


Six Coins Tied in a Row

by sitabethel



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 80k of self indulgent pwp, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bondage, Cuddles, Cupcake Wars - Freeform, Drinking, EVEN MORE SEX, Explicit Sex, Gentle Sex, M/M, Malik has mad sugar daddy game, Multi, Oral, Polyamory, Post canon, Recovery, Rough Sex, Sensation Play, Shower Sex, Spanking, Too Much Drinking, Toys, Wing Kink, a huge bed, and domestic fluff, and there was only one bed, anyone remember the dragon cards from the manga?, bringing new meaning to the term 'cluster fuck', ethical non-monogamy, his probably ain't your first sita bethel fic so you know the drill by now, making your own cooking show, omg all six of them became roommates, poly-exclusive relationship, quitting drinking, relationship anarchy, the little wisp of plot of more an ironic statement than an actual attempt at plot, wait don't drink that much it's becoming a problem, yuumieshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:35:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 48,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29212779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sitabethel/pseuds/sitabethel
Summary: Seven years after everyone's other half returned and none of them can bother pretending they don't like each other any longer...
Comments: 319
Kudos: 30





	1. Atem

**Author's Note:**

> In the manga, Imori says his grandfather got hold of the "Dragon Cards" in Manchuria during WWII. I did some research, and Japan did some bad stuff in that area during WWII, so I get the feeling Imori's grandpa was kinda an asshole. anyway, I tried to look up how to say dragon and card in the native language, but couldn't find a word for card. Dragon was "murduri," so they're often referred to as the murduri cards by the characters. 
> 
> The game itself was ripped off of feng shui concepts, so the title is refers to a feng shui cure (six coins tied with red string. It's not always six, but this is yuumieshipping, so six is the right number for the fanfic lol). Since unsealing the game unbalances the yin and yang energy... I mean, you know, using a cure makes more sense than playing a shadow game. At least in my opinion. 
> 
> Anyway, this is broken into a lot of shot sections, so I'll just update whenever I have the energy to proof each section w/o worrying about a schedule. And thanks to Tyrannical Lady for beta'ing this for me!

Atem ordered a lemon drop. He held it and pouted as he watched Bakura dancing in the middle of the club. The drops of sweat glistened on Bakura's collarbone like neon jewels, and Atem hated how Bakura's clothes clung to his damp body. 

How long had they played this game? Two? No, three years. They had tried avoidance, but there was only one good gay night club in Domino City and this was it, so—inevitably—they bumped into each other. Often. They used to go to opposite ends of the club, never verbally agreeing to terms. They simply understood the need to keep distance between them lest they spill blood on the dance floor. But for seven years total they met at tournaments, duels, clubs, and the occasional party Yugi and Ryou would drag them to (respectively), and the years wore them down.

The way Bakura could roll his stomach during a song was pure, fucking art. Atem once had harems of dancers who couldn’t pull half the moves of the former Thief King. Atem sucked a generous sip from his glass and grit his teeth. He brushed a long, multi-colored lock off his shoulder. The hair hung in heavy coils around his head, grounding him with their weight and helping him resist sneaking closer to the former Thief King. 

Mutual hate had faded to indifference. One would think, after three thousand years of hatred, it would take more than a handful of years to reach apathy, but it was amazing how slowly time moved without a Millenium Item hanging from his neck. The last seven years felt longer than everything which had come before them. 

And the way the lights reflected in Bakura's platinum hair? Damn. The colors bled together, transforming Bakura into a mythical beast from a fabel. Bakura’s glance caught Atem’s stare. Bakura smirked, winked. Atem hated him. 

About three years ago, the spatial gap between them closed. They’d dance side by side, or even back to back, in a room writhing with bodies. Atem wore his eyeliner more thickly. Bakura’s pants changed from jeans to red leather. Atem decorated himself in his royal jewelry, so Bakura put on stolen royal jewelry—at least Atem didn’t recognize any of the pieces. He would have demanded it back had it belonged to his immediate family. They would have fought bloody. 

Instead of fighting, they’d somehow fallen into an erotic rivalry. Who could cock-tease the other more at the club on Friday night? Atem finished his lemon drop. He didn’t like to admit defeat, but he was going insane staring at Bakura. He ordered another drink, wanting to wash his enemy away with vodka and triple sec. 

Bakura dragged his hands down his chest, eyes closed as he moved with the music, hips never tiring. Atem wanted to slap him. Kiss him. Rake his nails down Bakura’s back in a street fight or in bed—he didn’t care which anymore. As long as their movements were raw, and close, and— 

Atem flinched when someone reached out and pet his head. 

“Hey! Are these extensions?” They pawed at Atem’s hair. 

“No.” Atem scowled, shoving the hand and stepping sideways. 

“It looks like a wig.” 

“It’s not.”

“Too colorful. Gotta be a wig.”

Wigs were common in Egypt, but Atem never wore them. The poor had to worry about lice, but Atem had royal magicians to ward off infestations. The man beside him had long black hair and longer legs. He wore the air of someone used to taking people home at night without much effort, but Domino was full of gorgeous, gay duelists, so this man’s lack luster approach wasn’t impressing Atem. Not to mention, he was blocking Atem’s view of Bakura who was far more interesting to fight with on top of being gorgeous to look at. 

“Prove it. Let me tug on it,” the stranger said. 

Oh hell no. Atem slammed the last of his drink in one gulp and threw the cup in the trash. It was time to leave the club. Without a word, Atem turned and marched toward the door. The stranger grabbed Atem’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I’m still talking to you.”

“Don't touch me.” Atem slapped the hand away. 

“Why are you making a big deal out of—”

“Hey!” Bakura cut in between Atem and the stranger. “Get your hands off my boyfriend before I snap your fucking fingers like a Kit Kat.” 

Atem’s mouth dropped. Before he could gather himself, Bakura slung an arm around Atem’s shoulders. 

“Bakura—” 

“C’mon, Babe. How ‘bout you soak in the tub while I fix us a snack and then I’ll eat your ass out before bed because—” Bakura glared behind his shoulder— “That’s how you’re supposed to treat someone you’re interested in.” 

Stepping outside was like stepping into another world. The music faded to a dull throb, and the cool air kissed Atem’s flushed, tipsy face. He tilted his gaze upward. The moon reminded him of Bakura’s hair. 

“So…” Atem drew out the word as they walked toward his apartment. Bakura kept his arm around Atem—probably in case the creep followed them out. Atem continued with his line of thought. “You’re going to make me a snack and then make me your snacc?” 

Bakura lurched forward, laughing. Atem joined him. They leaned against each other, walking and snickering. When they were a block away from the club, Atem stopped.

“Hey, um...thanks. For that. For helping.” Atem grunted, disgusted at the memory. “I really fucking hate how people think my hair’s somehow communal property and touch it without asking.”

“Listen.” Frown lines wrinkled Bakura's brow and the corners of his mouth. “Dude was full of shit. Your hair is fucking regal. Anyone tells you otherwise—kick their ass.” 

“Thanks…” A smile overtook Atem’s face. He leaned a little closer. “Let me touch yours, and I’ll let you touch mine.” 

“Scandalous, a lowly thief touching Horus’s brilliant crest?” Bakura teased the vibrant-colored, coiled locs spiraling down Atem’s shoulders. 

“Yugi said they threw rocks at Kisara, because of her hair.” 

“Who?”

“She was the Blue Eyes White Dragon.” 

“Oh, that makes sense.” Bakura shrugged, thinking. “That’s why I wore the hood.” 

“I’m sorry,” Atem whispered, barely teasing the soft, frosted strands of Bakura’s mane. “I’m-I’m—”

“Shhh.” Bakura clapped his hand over Atem’s mouth. “It’s Friday. I’m buzzed. We’ve gone five minutes without slapping each other. Don’t ruin this by talking.” Bakura sighed, dropping his hand. “I’ll walk you home.” 

“I can make it. I’m only a little trashed.” Atem turned down the street and toward his apartment. 

“Eh, I don’t trust that weirdo not to pop up. You attract some grade A assholes to you.” 

“Only the best.” Atem patted Bakura on the back. 

“Ho-ho! Clever.” Bakura bumped Atem with his hip as they walked. 

Atem bumped him back. It escalated into a shoving contest, but they laughed as they pushed each other. Atem’s apartment appeared, and their horse-play ceased as they walked the last quarter block without speaking. Atem stopped before the entranceway into the complex. 

“Well…” He crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the moon instead of Bakura. 

“What? No upstairs invite for coffee?” Bakura grinned. “What a disappointing date.” 

Atem punched Bakura’s shoulder, smiling more than he ought to be, and walked into the apartment lobby. Atem glanced over his shoulder. Part of him hoped Bakura would follow him, but Bakura stood on the outside, looking in. 


	2. Bakura

Bakura paced through his apartment with his cellphone in his hand. He imagined a cartoon version of himself wearing out the floor and pacing in a trench. He laughed at the image, but there was no joy in his chest. He checked the time. It was 1am, which meant it’d be 6pm in Luxor and Malik should be done with dinner…

Leaning against the wall, Bakura slid to the floor. His stubbornness broke and he jabbed Malik’s name on his contact list. Malik answered after the second ring, accepting the video call. The moment his face flashed onto the screen, Bakura smiled. 

“Hey,” he whispered. 

“Hey,” Malik repeated. “Have fun at the club tonight?” 

“It was fine.” Bakura sighed. 

“Bakura? What’s wrong?” Malik asked. 

Bakura clenched his teeth. That was the problem with talking to Malik—he always saw through Bakura’s bullshit. 

“Nothing. I’m fine,” Bakura snapped. 

“Fucked-up. Insecure. Neurotic. Emotional?” 

“I miss you, you bastard.” Heat slipped down Bakura’s face.

He scrubbed his face with his forearm, furious that he’d cracked so quickly. He didn’t _want_ Malik seeing him like _this_. 

“Bakura…” Malik whispered over the line. 

“It’s nothing.” Bakura smeared more tears off of his face. “I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. This is stupid. Forget I called—”

“Bakura, don’t you dare hang up!” Malik shouted. “ _Talk to me_ , dammit.” 

“I—I don’t even know why I’m freaking out? You’ll visit in 6 more weeks. It’s not that far. But...do you ever feel lonely? Even when you’re surrounded by people? If I go too long without seeing you, it always creeps in, and then you visit, and everything’s great, but then you go, and…” Bakura shook his head. 

He wasn’t good with sharing his feelings—no secret there. He still heard Zorc’s sinister laugh in the back of his head mocking his weak emotions and his weakness in general in loving another human being, but _fuck_ he missed Malik. Malik’s absence was a spear in his chest. 

“It’s going to be okay, Bakura,” Malik said in a calm voice. 

“Yeah, I know,” Bakura agreed, rubbing his cheek with his shirt. 

“I miss you too,” Malik’s voice was quiet. 

Bakura winced. He didn’t call to make Malik sad, but he could see Malik’s eyes gleam in near-tears behind his calm expression.

“I’m fine, Malik—don’t throw acronyms at me—I’m okay. Hey, want to hear how I became Atem’s boyfriend?” 

Malik laughed. “Yes. I definitely want to hear that story. Kiss and tell already.”

Bakura retold the story of Atem at the club, and Atem’s snack/snacc pun, and they both laughed. Bakura made a few other jokes until Malik’s smile was sincere enough to put Bakura at ease. 

“Listen.” Malik cleared his throat. “I have some errands I need to run before bed tonight, and—”

“No problem.” Bakura pushed himself to his feet, tears finally dry. He looked away from the screen. “I don’t know why I flipped earlier. I guess I needed to hear your voice.” 

“Will you call me tomorrow?” Malik asked.

“I guess. I mean, I’ll need a break from video games sooner or later.” 

“Great. See you then.” Malik laughed. 

“I love your stupid face.” Bakura snorted. 

“I love your stupid face too, dumbass.” Malik blew him a kiss before he disconnected the call. 

Bakura dropped the phone, collapsed back onto the carpet, and didn’t hold back his tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone remind me to post the next section tomorrow lol (this one's sad, so I figure I should post the next one soon)


	3. Malik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> realized how short the next bit was, so I'm posting now

Malik held himself together until the moment the call ended. As he set down his phone, the tears filled his eyes, and a blink later they streamed down his cheeks as sobs hiccuped from his mouth. Malik hid his face as he cried. Rishid walked into the living room thirty seconds later—on full mother bear alert. 

“Malik, what’s wrong?” 

“I feel like Persephone.” Malik stood up. Rishid came within reach and Malik threw his arms around him. “You and Isis are so important to me but...I need to go. I've been thinking about it for a long time. I didn't want to hurt Isis, but Rishid _I'm hurting._ It hurts to be away from Bakura and Kek and my friends. I can't even be myself in Luxor without worrying about how my every action might affect Isis's career, but in Domino I can actually breathe. Even Atem doesn't want to be here and it used to be his stupid country.” 

“Come on.” Rishid pulled away from Malik, mussing Malik's hair before grabbing his motorcycle keys. 

“Where are we going?” 

“To grab boxes so you can pack.” 

“Just like that? Load up the boat and go?” Malik dried his face in the mirror to avoid smearing his kohl. 

“If that's what makes you happy? Yes.” 

“What about Isis?” 

“We'll explain. She'll be sad because she'll miss you, but she'll want what's best for you. You can still visit us, and we'll visit you as well. It will work out.” 

“You're the best, Rishid.” Malik grabbed him in another hug. 


	4. Kek

Kek wrapped his hair in a bandana before grabbing a dust rag and going over all the games on the shelves. The dust tickled his nose, and he sneezed. Rubbing his nostrils with the side of his finger, Kek returned to his dusting. 

He’d resurrected with the others, but unlike the others wasn’t accustomed to his own body, nor the emotions of being a complete human being. He had thrashed, and screamed, and cried, too angry and confused to think, but Yugi—despite his fear—offered Kek a place to stay. 

At first he'd growled at everyone he saw and hid in Yugi's bedroom closet because it was the darkest space he could find. He’d sleep coiled on the floor under a blanket Yugi snuck onto him when he’d been unconscious. He was a feral kitten, dangerous, but spooked. Ryou had lured him out by turning off all the lights, playing horror movies, and snuggling next to Yugi—uttery ignoring Kek—until Kek decided to investigate. 

Interested in the sound of screams, Kek had crawled from the closet to the foot of the bed. He’d enjoyed the movie, but scurried away after the film ended.

Ryou started bringing snacks. He and Yugi would share popcorn or a plate stacked with cream puffs. The third time, he offered Kek one of the confections, and Kek couldn't resist. By the end of the week, he was sitting between them, eyes watering from his first delicious bite of wasabi flavored peanuts. 

He grew accustomed to Yugi and Ryou, but Yugi's other friends still glared at him, so if they came close, he'd growl and scare them away. His snarls eventually calmed to dirty looks. It wasn't until a year later when Anzu visited from America that the tension broke between Kek and the rest of Yugi's friends. He growled at her. She laughed and accused Kek of being mellow compared to some of the people she saw on the subways in New York. They became friends, and she lectured Jonouchi and Honda enough for them to ease up on Kek. They all got along somewhat after that.

Once Kek adapted to human life, they let him work at the game shop in the evenings so Yugi’s grandfather could have some time to rest. Kek liked the game shop. Yugi, more like Kaiba than anyone would ever admit, turned up his nose at regular board games. He worked at Kaiba Corp developing new games, but Kek liked the quiet shop and the chance to sit behind the counter and paint figurines for his and Ryou's Monster World campaigns.

He reached the last display case. Behind the locked glass, sat a jar and a deck of cards stored in a wooden box. A note read _display only_ in red ink. Kek hated the cards and the jar. It wasn't _exactly_ Shadow Magic, but Darkness was Darkness and the jar felt...hungry…whenever Kek walked past.

“Kek.”

A hand touched his shoulder. Kek spun and clenched the throat of whoever— 

Yugi's violet eyes widened with surprise. Kek jerked his hand away and stepped backward.

“Yugi. We've talked about why you can't sneak behind me.”

“I didn't. I called your name twice, but you must not have heard me.” 

“I’m sorry.” Kek rubbed his shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

Yugi grabbed Kek's hand and placed it back on his throat. Kek ran his fingers down the lines of Yugi's neck, searching for any blotches or swelling. 

“I don't see any damage… I'm sorry.”

It had been seven years since he hid in Yugi's closet and growled at people. He was human now, but still a little broken. Malik said it was okay—that they both were. They texted and Skyped often. They’d sorted out their dark childhood long ago and, while it still haunted them, didn’t blame each other for it any longer.

Nonetheless, Kek hated when he lost control of himself.

“I wasn't frightened, so don’t worry about it.” Yugi held both of Kek's hands. “You should stay away from that case, though. The _muduri cards_ are dangerous.” 

“How come Ryou and Bakura get to play with them but no one else?” Kek asked; he'd always wondered.

“It's safe for them to play.” 

“But not us?” 

“No.” Yugi shook his head, mouth scowling.

“How come?” 

“Ryou explains it better. I'm no good with magic stuff.” Yugi shrugged. “Um, anyway…”

Yugi grew nervous, scratching the back of his head and shifting his weight.

“Are you okay?” Kek asked.

“I was wondering if you were done for the night?” 

“Yeah, I was cleaning a bit, but I can lock up right now. What's up?” 

“Well.” Yugi dug the toe of his shoe into the carpet. “It's Friday night, so I was wondering…” Yugi released a loud exhale, closing his eyes for a second before locking his gaze with Kek's. “Would you like to go out? With me? O-on a date?”

Kek's heart fluttered in his chest. 

He daydreamed about dates. Holding hands, whispering sweet things to someone in a crowded room, holding someone until the sunlight broke in through the window and forced them to get out of bed. He and Malik fooled around online—it started as an innocent game of “compare the bodies” since Kek realized he had a birthmark and freckles which were never on Malik, and escalated to dirty talk and pleasuring themselves at the same time—but other halves didn’t count. There was a pre-established familiarity with an other half that made sexting and cybering easy. This was different. Yugi wanted to go on a real date. 

Kek opened his mouth, but closed it. He wanted to. He’d been following Yugi and Ryou around since almost the beginning of his existence in his current body and _ached_ to join them when he saw them cuddling together and giggling while they fed each other popcorn on the sofa during stay-home dates, but he’d never wanted to butt in on their private moments. 

“Are...are you fighting with Ryou?”

“No? Why would I fight with Ryou?” Yugi asked. 

“But aren’t you already dating Ryou?” 

Kek frowned, trying to figure out if he was somehow mis-interpreting a friendly gesture to be more than it was. He wasn’t perfect with emotions, but Yugi had seemed pretty up front about the fact that it was a _date_ and not them hanging out as friends...

“I thought you knew,” Yugi said. 

“What should I know?” Kek asked. 

“I mean…” Yugi blushed “You know Ryou goes out with Bakura, right?” 

“Yeah, but other halves don’t really count.” Kek snorted, echoing what he’d thought to himself a moment earlier. 

“They most certainly do!” Yugi laughed. 

“But do they really?” Kek insisted. 

“Yes!”

Kek pursed his lips. He’d have to talk to Malik and ask what he thought. Maybe it was different for Yugi because Atem hadn’t actually _been_ Yugi, not the way Kek had been Malik. 

“So it won’t hurt Ryou’s feelings if we go out?” 

“No.” Yugi shook his head. “I promise. Although you can call him and ask yourself if it’ll make you feel reassured. He’s actually the one who convinced me to quit being so nervous and ask you.” Yugi’s blush deepened. 

It made him so cute, Kek almost choked. He ripped the bandana out of his hair and dashed around the store to lock everything up for the night. 


	5. Yugi

Yugi bought a veggie burger for Kek and a regular one for himself. They sipped on their drinks while they waited for their food, both fidgeting with anything in reach. Usually conversation was easy between them, but knowing they were on an official date made Yugi's stomach twist. He was far from the shy, insecure high school kid he was before solving the Puzzle, but Yugi was still a hot mess when it came to crushes.

“Um…” Kek struggled to start a conversation. “H-how was your day?”

“Good.” Yugi poked his straw in and out of the lid, then realized how suggestive the movement was and stopped. “Maybe I should have picked somewhere nicer to take you.”

“I'm having fun,” Kek spoke rapidly, as if afraid Yugi would cancel the date and take Kek home if he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself enough.

“Why don't you pick where we go after dinner?” Yugi offered.

“Want to rent go-carts and go racing?” Kek asked.

“Oh yeah, there's a course nearby. What a good idea.” Yugi beamed at the suggestion.

Their food arrived, and Yugi managed to eat despite his nerves. He grabbed a fry, reaching across the table and shoving it into Kek's mouth. Kek grinned, face scrunching up with happiness. Over the years Yugi had completely fallen in love with the expressions Kek made whenever he was excited. Kek's face was always an easy giveaway to his feelings, and they were so strong that you felt the emotions yourself. When he was angry he was terrifying, and when he was sad Yugi wanted to cry with him, and when he was happy he lit up the room and made Yugi's heart dance.

“I'm so glad you agreed to go out with me tonight.” Yugi nibbled on his fries as he admired Kek's face.

“Why wouldn't I?”

“Well, for starters, most people wouldn't go out with a guy who already had a boyfriend—even if the same boyfriend threatened to hide all the guy's Zombire comics if he didn't step up and ask you out.”

“Did Ryou really do that?” Kek laughed.

“He's really good at motivating me—with threats. I think Bakura is a bad influence on him.”

“I'm always so stressed trying to sort out my own emotions that I never really thought about relationships. I assumed people could only be in couples because it's what most people do, but…” Kek drew on the table top with his finger. “I...um, I mean—”

“Take your time. You can think about how you feel before you explain it.” Yugi sipped on his soda, staring at his food so Kek felt less pressured.

“I know how it feels but there's so much to say. I'm happy? Because I've liked you for a long time, but I didn't think you had the option of liking me back, so I'm shocked, and thrilled, and I'm—I'm relieved more than anything. Because I can have one type of relationship with Malik, and another, different type of relationship with you, and maybe—” he thought of Yugi and Ryou snuggling on the sofa and watching movies and all the times Kek wished he could have joined them, but it was too much to form into words. “Well, you know. All I'm saying is this is great.”

“I think it's great too.” Yugi smiled.

They finished eating and walked hand in hand to the go-cart tracks. Kek chose a dark purple car to race and Yugi drove a red one. They were able to talk through the speakers in their helmets, but both focused on the course as they made a few warm up laps.

“This course is pretty predictable,” Yugi said after their third lap.

“Is that your way of asking me to race?” Kek grinned as he gripped the steering wheel.

“I was hoping _you_ might want to,” Yugi answered, his voice coy.

“Count to three,” Kek said.

“One...two...three—”

Yugi’s car peeled ahead as they built speed during the beginning straight edge of the course, but as soon as the road curved, Kek started to pull ahead. The car’s torque tugged at his core as he cut the steering wheel to the left and accelerated. Kek whooped as he pulled ahead and remained ahead until they were back to the long stretch again.

“Don’t relax now. I’m right on your ass,” Yugi warned.

“That’s exactly where I want you to be.” Kek licked his lips.

“No innuendos while racing! It’s distracting!”

“You didn’t establish that rule before we started.” Kek saw Yugi in his peripheral vision, but they curved, and he managed to pull ahead a second time.

Once they declared the race over, Kek did victory laps around Yugi’s car. Yugi slipped out and Kek parked, freeing his wild hair from his helmet.

“I should have known better than to race you.” Yugi laughed.

“I _did_ come from Malik.” Kek grinned.

“I’m sure he’ll be proud when he finds out you beat me.” Yugi mussed his own hair, fluffing it back into place. He held out his hand for Kek to take. “Come on, date. I’ll walk you home.”

“Such a gentleman!” Kek snickered.

They turned in their helmets and keys before heading onto the sidewalk. Only a few stars cut through the light pollution of the city.

“I love the night.” Kek angled his face toward the dark sky. “It’s beautiful.”

“So are you,” Yugi whispered.

Kek’s eyes popped open and even in the street light Yugi could tell he was blushing. Yugi grinned, grabbing Kek’s hand and pulling him onward. They ended back at Yugi’s house. He walked Kek to his bedroom, and they stopped in front of the door.

“I…” Kek held both of Yugi’s hands but stared at the carpet. “Uh, had fun. Tonight. Th-thank you. For taking me out.”

“Maybe we could do it again some time?”

“You know where I live.” Kek winked.

Yugi giggled out of nervous reflex. Kek leaned lower. Yugi’s breath caught in his throat. He moved in to kiss Kek, but Kek froze before their lips touched. Yugi started, blushing harder. A tiny, high pitched sound, like a giggle suffocating, escaped Kek’s throat. He tried to move in again, but only managed to bump Yugi's nose instead of kissing him. With a grunt, Yugi grabbed the back of Kek’s head and shoved their mouths together. Kek whimpered, sinking into the kiss. It lasted for a brilliant handful of seconds then Yugi pulled away.

“Goodnight, Kek.” Yugi smiled.

Kek waved, slipping into his room. His giggles echoed from the other side of the door and Yugi’s pulse quickened at the sound. He jogged back to his own room so he could tell Ryou all about his first date with Kek.


	6. Atem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mild disclaimer: that "too much drinking tag starting to hit"
> 
> I'm feeling super lazy b/c of this bullshit weather, so I might be posting a lot of these. I'll try to start the next cyoa segment tonight too :D

It started with a few extra drinks at the club, but then Atem reached the point where he was having enough fun—utterly ignoring Bakura—that he wanted to have even _more_ fun which required more drinks. Not long after, the lights were running together and the music thumped in his stomach in a nauseating way. Atem decided to dance it off until he sobered enough to go home, but some asshole behind him kept grabbing his hips and pulling him closer. Atem shoved the dude away for the third time. He wanted to be lost in the crowd with no specific partner, so he wasn't interested in whoever kept trying to dance with him. The club was fucking spinning. 

The guy behind him tugged at his hair. Atem spun, growled, and hammered his fists at the guy's chest, but Atem wasn’t doing much damage.Through the mess of colored lights and shadow, Atem recognized the jerk from the week before. Atem grit his teeth and brought his knee up toward the guy’s balls, but the guy turned to block Atem’s blow with the outer meat of his thigh. 

“Feisty.” He laughed, gripping Atem’s shoulders. 

“I told you to stay away from my beau!” 

Bakura crashed into the scene like he’d once crashed into Atem’s palace—reckless and ready to fight. He cold cocked the smug bastard in the jaw. The man dropped to the floor and Bakura used the opportunity to kick him in the ribs. 

“Touch! Him! One! More! Time! And! They! Won’t! Find! Your! Corpse!” 

Three other guys grabbed Bakura and dragged him away. Fights weren’t common, but weren’t rare enough to stop the music either. They merely separated Bakura from the guy on the floor so no one else accidentally got hurt from a stray kick. A bouncer walked through the crowd, hitching his thumb to suggest Bakura leave. Atem stared at everything that happened with a dropped jaw. He was beginning to understand why Anzu had gotten so giddy after the incident at Burger World when Atem had set her attacker on fire. He was giddy now.

“C’mon, Babe. Time to take you home.” Bakura scooped Atem in his arms as if this were their honeymoon and marched out of the club. 

Atem’s face burned. He was too drunk for this. He was far, _far_ , too drunk for this. His heart was jackhammering in his chest. He was swooning—but it was Bakura! He couldn’t _do this_! But the booze made him honest, if only in his private thoughts. _He wanted this._ Atem sighed and nuzzled against Bakura's neck. _He wanted all of this._ He wanted Bakura to carry him directly to bed, pin Atem's arms over his head, and— 

Bakura carried Atem for an entire block before sitting Atem down on a bench and shook his shoulders. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you! Don’t wander off if you’re going to get drunk. Stay close to me! I shouldn't have to babysit you—”

“Then don’t!” Atem shouted, shoving Bakura hard and almost falling off the bench, but Bakura steadied him. 

Atem was angry. He was angry because he wanted to kiss Bakura and it had nothing to do with the booze and everything with the way Bakura’s hips swerved when his favorite song played, or the way he never held back laughing when he thought a joke was funny, or the fact that he’d saved Atem two weeks in a row. 

“ _Grrrrrrgh_!” Bakura growled in Atem’s face. “Someone’s got to be the responsible one, you royal fucking spoiled brat!” 

“‘Mm not!” Atem smacked Bakura’s shoulder repeatedly. 

Nausea boiled in Atem's stomach. He leaned to the side of the bench and puked at the base of a hedge. Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot as he waited for Atem to finish. Atem spat, wiped his mouth, and gazed at Bakura with a wide, pathetic stare. 

“Feel better?” Bakura raised an eyebrow. 

“Haven’t you sworn eternal hatred toward me or something? What the fuck are we doing, Bakura?” 

“I don’t know!” Bakura growled and plopped on the other side of Atem (leaving the bush end free in case Atem needed to lean over again). Titling his head back, Bakura stared at the stars. 

Atem wanted to touch Bakura's hair. Atem wanted to hold Bakura's face. Atem wanted to kiss Bakura so gently that Bakura would _know beyond argument_ that Atem never wanted Bakura to suffer again. Atem wanted to lunge in front of the taxi cab speeding past them and end his thoughts. 

“The last seven years have lasted longer than five of our first lifetimes,” Bakura spoke to the sky. 

Atem nodded, hugging himself and willing the city to stop spinning. He didn’t want to barf again. 

“Aren’t you… tired of it? Trying to live _that life?_ ” Bakura turned his head to catch Atem’s gaze. 

“Yeah,” Atem confessed. “Do you ever…” Atem’s throat tightened. “Feel lonely? Even when you're surrounded by people?” 

Bakura nodded, his eyes wide and sad. Too sad. Atem felt the sorrow in his own chest. He curled beside Bakura, daring to rest his head on Bakura’s shoulder. 

“I don’t want to be enemies anymore.” Atem frowned. 

“Frienemies.” Bakura chuckled. 

“It’s an improvement.” Atem shivered. 

“You’re shaking.” Bakura wrapped his arm around Atem’s shoulders. “Let’s get your drunk ass home.”

“You’re doing it again.” Atem stared at Bakura’s arm holding onto him. 

“Doing what?”

“Acting like my friend!” Atem shouted the words. 

“For Set’s sake, Atem. Stop worrying about what we’re _called_. Friends or enemies or what the fuck ever. Just dance and have fun and fuck labels.” 

“But it’s my fault…” Atem wheezed, struggling to breathe. 

“What’s your fault? That we're sitting out here like assholes instead of dancing?” 

“Everything!” Atem screamed, his voice carrying over the light 1 AM traffic. “Everything. I should have done—more—or done things differently—or—or something. I don’t know, but I couldn’t rest in Aaru. The Ceremonial Duel was supposed to help me lay down my sword, but I _couldn’t_. I couldn’t. That’s why I brought us back. I wanted to save you. I wanted...I felt like I could make it right somehow, but—but how? It’s been seven years, but I don’t know how to make amends. There was too much tragedy!” 

“Wait, _you_ brought us back?” Bakura’s mouth dropped. 

“Yes.” Atem nodded, his features crushed in a devastated expression. 

“It was...you? Personally? Who found Kek _and_ me?” 

“It didn’t seem right, that you two were in the Shadow Realm. Your mother keened at the palace walls. I tried to talk to her, but the guards forced me to stay in the palace. I had to use Mana as an emissary. And the more I learned from what Mana told me." Atem yanked at his hair, wanting to scream because both in his first life and afterlife being king always felt like a gilded cage. The irony, of course, being that he'd only felt somewhat free with Yugi while trapped in the Puzzle. "So I left, and brought us back. I thought, I thought I could do something, but I haven’t done anything. I can’t even take care of myself let alone other people.” Atem buried his face in his hands. “I'm really useless without Yugi.” 

"You saw my mother? And you never told me?" 

"I thought you'd be angry." 

"I am angry! Why were your stupid fucking guards rude to my mother?"

"Why wouldn't my stupid fucking guards let me talk to her? Shouldn't they follow my orders? But there are odd rules in Aaru, and I didn't stay long enough to learn them." Atem rubbed his eyes, probably smearing his Kohl. "She and Mana became friends, though. And she should know you're safe now. I'm sure she's eager to see you."

" _Psh_ , like anything other than Ammit is waiting for me—" 

"No." Atem clutched at Bakura's sleeve. "I won't let that happen. You've been through too much to have it end with oblivion." 

"You fool." Bakura brushed the pad of his thumb across Atem's bottom lip. His grin curved the scar on his face. "Listen, thanks for pulling me out of the Shadows, but I'm not your burden." 

"I wanted to make things right," Atem whispered.

“Take it from someone who knows,” Bakura said. “You can’t do shit about the past, and no magic alive can undo harm once it’s done. The only thing you can do is go forward. Besides...” Bakura sighed. “You can’t blame yourself for everything.”

“You've always blamed me.” 

“I...did, but not anymore.” 

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t slit my throat if you thought you could get away with it.” Atem stood, wobbly on his feet. He wanted his own bed now, though he still yearned to hold Bakura in his arms.

Bakura flicked a knife from his pocket and slid it below Atem’s jaw quicker than Atem could blink. They stood, the wind blowing cold through their clothes as they stared at each other. 

“Think I couldn’t kill you if I wanted to? Malik has connections. We could ironically stuff you into your own tomb and run off to California and drink mimosas on Sunset Boulevard at 10 AM.”

“What’s holding you back?” Atem narrowed his gaze. 

“Maybe I don’t want to drag Malik into the mud again. He worked hard to rebuild his life.” Bakura slipped the knife back in his pocket. He brushed his thumb up Atem’s cheek and near his eye. “Or maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for Egyptian boys with purple eyes.” 

Atem blushed. 

“You’ll never know which one it is.” Bakura hooked his arm around Atem and escorted him home. 


	7. Ryou

Ryou lined up his paints and a few jars of water. His figurines stood on sheets of newspaper to prevent paint falling onto the kitchen table. Kek entered the room with his hair tied back. He wore an old pair of sweatpants and a white tank top—both splattered with paint. 

“You look ready to begin.” Ryou nodded at Kek's clothes. 

“Did you see the undead dragon Yugi printed for me? I can't wait to paint her.” 

“Yes. I helped him find the blueprints. It's going to be so fun to see her in a campaign.” 

“I should have known Ryou-horror-freak-extraordinaire-Bakura was the one to pick her out.” Kek flashed a toothy, dangerous grin. “Thanks.” 

“When it comes to horror, you and I are practically soul mates.” Ryou giggled. “Although Atem keeps saying he loves horror movies too. I wish he'd stop running away and join us some time during our movie marathons.” 

“Watching a movie or two isn't awkward, but those marathons are dates between you and Yugi. No one wants to third wheel.” Kek added a white base coat to his dragon.

Ryou sighed. That was _exactly_ why he and Yugi kept inviting _certain_ people to join them, but Bakura was the only one who ever got the hint.

“Speaking of dates, did you have fun with Yugi last night?” Ryou asked. 

“Of course I did!” Kek's face lit up. His cheeks were so round and bright as he grinned that it was hard for Ryou not to reach over and pinch them. “We grabbed some food and raced go-karts. It was great.” 

“I heard you dominated the track.” 

“Maybe a little.” Kek rinsed his brush and set the dragon aside to dry. He grabbed a generic monster to paint in the meantime. 

“I'm glad you both had fun. You should have seen Yugi that night. He's so cute when he talks about his crushes.” 

“And you don't get jealous?” Kek asked. 

“Jealousy is natural, but I've never really been prone to it. I never understood why people treat romance so exclusively. We don't restrict ourselves to one friend or one family member.” 

“And you're dating Bakura?” 

“I wouldn't call it dating out loud, but yes, we're very close.” 

“Why not call it dating? Is it because other halves don't count?” 

“Is that what you and Malik say?” Ryou raised an eyebrow. He set his warrior down and worked on a skeleton instead. 

“We never really talked about it. I just sorta assumed.” 

“Bakura doesn't care for labels. He said they're too simple. I think it's because everyone always reduced him to a _thief_. All in all, I tend to agree with him. The name doesn't change our feelings or the fun we have when we hang out.” 

“ _Would_ you date someone else, then? If they asked you?” Kek set his figurine down and fidgeted with his brush.

“If someone I liked asked.” Ryou held his breath as he waited for Kek's next question.

“What about me?” Kek drove to the point without hesitation. 

“I would love to.” Ryou smiled. After having to lead to get both Yugi and Bakura to go out with him, it was nice to have someone ask _him_ first. 

“Tonight? I have an idea of where I want to take you.” 

“All right. You can pick me up in my room at six.” Ryou winked. Kek giggled, face flushed. His response made Ryou giddy. “You know what this means, don't you?” 

“What?” Kek titled his head.

“Next time Yugi and I have a marathon, you're automatically invited to join us.” 

“Yeah, guess I don't have to feel like I'm crashing your dates anymore.” 

“No, because they'll be all our dates, which is what we've been trying to explain all along.” 

"Sorry. I didn't know triple dates were an option." Kek scratched his head.

"I can forgive you easily. You needed time to figure things out—what's Atem's excuse? He was literally in Yugi's heart. He should know how Yugi feels." 

"Sometimes you can be too close to see." Kek shoved a figurine into Ryou's face.

"You're right." Ryou blinked and nudged the figure away so he could focus. "It's just sad watching them. They clearly love each other, but Atem runs away every time." 

"Maybe I could help. I'll just pick him up and carry him to the couch and tell him it's time for movies. No politeness to muddy the waters." 

"That would be amusing. I’d love to see his reaction." Ryou chuckled.

Ryou plucked a new paint brush from his pile and mixed a few colors together to get the specific shade he wanted. They chatted as they worked on several figurines, but Ryou kept daydreaming about where Kek would take him that night. He couldn’t wait for Yugi to return from Atem’s so he could tell Yugi he was going out. 


	8. Yugi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This section is so short, gonna post it now b/c eh, I got nothing better to do with my evening.

Yugi knocked on the door. Atem answered thirty seconds later.

“Yugi.” Atem wrapped his arms around Yugi and squeezed, though not as tightly as usual.

“You okay?” Yugi cupped Atem’s cheek. “You look a little sick.” 

“I'm hung over,” Atem admitted.

“So I guess you had fun last night.” Yugi walked into Atem's apartment, fetching a glass of water and two aspirin for him.

“Not…so much.” Atem swallowed the pills and plopped onto the couch.

“Uh oh. Was Bakura being an asshole?” 

“No, Bakura was great. I mean… _ugh_ ” Atem groaned, plopping his face into his hands to hide. He gave a restrained, muffled scream. “He punched a guy last night.” 

“To take his wallet?” Yugi raised an eyebrow. 

“The jerk wouldn’t leave me alone, so Bakura socked him.” 

“Good.” Yugi laughed. “Besides, It’s about time you two stop pretending your club trips aren’t dates and just kiss already.” 

“He’d slap me,” Atem muttered into his palms, still hiding from the world. 

“Bakura’s a bitch. Slam him against the wall and cram your tongue right in his mouth. He’ll melt.” 

“Perhaps I should…” Atem smiled for a moment, but it crashed into a sad expression. “But I won’t.” 

“Yeah, I understand. Games are easier than dating.” Yugi slumped onto the sofa. 

“You can say that again.” Atem laughed, but it was stressed instead of happy. 

Yugi dropped the conversation because he knew he was being a hypocrite, giving Atem advice on bold flirting when he was an awkward mess. There were a lot of people _he_ should slam against a wall and kiss—Atem being at the top of the list—but he was still trying to recover from asking Kek out, and it was obvious Kek would say yes, but Atem was more skittish, and their friendship was too precious to risk without stronger signals. Signs Atem seemed to side step every chance he had. 

Atem was nothing but smooth confidence during a game, but at the after tournament parties? He usually picked a fight with Seto or Bakura instead of mingling, and when Yugi _did_ gather enough courage to flirt—Atem would blush and run off. Yugi wasn’t sure if it was nerves, or avoidance. He should ask Atem about his feelings out-right, but he could never get the words out, so Yugi pined, screamed into his pillow, and vented to Ryou when the tension grew too much to endure. Currently, Yugi fetched a blanket, swaddled Atem in the soft material, and held him.

“Sorry you’re hungover,” Yugi said, avoiding all the other things they should talk about. 

“It’s my own fault.” Atem rolled his eyes, but winced when the action hurt his head. 

“Want to skip working on our game for today and take a nap instead?” 

“No way!” Atem wiggled himself into a sitting position. “That game is too important to you!” 

“One day off won’t hurt.” Yugi poked Atem’s nose. 

Atem blushed, as always, and muttered, “The last thing I want to do is hold you back. We’ll work on the game now, and I can nap later.” 

“How about a 30 minute nap for the aspirin to kick in, and then we work?” Yugi grinned. 

“Okay. You talked me into it.” Atem dropped into Yugi’s arms, closing his eyes and using Yugi’s chest as a pillow. 

Yugi sighed, resisting the urge to say Atem’s name out loud. He kissed Atem’s forehead in hopes of soothing his headache. Closing his eyes as well, Yugi breathed deeply as he drifted off with Atem in his arms. 


	9. Kek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini disclaimer for spanking/paddling in the lemon. I tried to tag everything, but I think I forgot that one.

Kek gave up on his hair and wrestled it into another ponytail. He fanned his face. He never quite rid himself of his sado-masochistic nature, and the torture of waiting for the clock to reach 6pm was killing him in such a lucious, savory way. He dusted more holographic highlighter on his cheeks and added another layer of kohl to his eyes. He hadn’t had time to dress up for Yugi, and he was making up for it on his second date.

At ten till, Kek walked down the hall to Ryou and Yugi's shared bedroom. He knocked on the door. Yugi answered, a huge grin on his face.

“Make sure you have him home by curfew!”

“When's curfew?” Kek frowned.

“Sunrise.” Yugi laughed.

“Keep making jokes like that, and I'm not letting Bakura hang out with us anymore.” Ryou rolled his eyes.

“Have fun. If you need me, I'll be gaming online with Jonouchi and the others.” Yugi kissed Ryou's cheek.

“Tell everyone I said hi.” Ryou returned Yugi's kiss, but on the lips, and held out his arm for Kek to clasp. “Ready?”

Kek linked arms with Ryou and led him to his motorcycle. They strapped on their helmets before speeding down the streets of Domino City. Their first stop was a small bakery on the edge of town.

“You remembered my favorite one.” Ryou's face glowed.

“Of course.” Kek nodded his head.

Once a month, for as long as Kek existed in his own body, Ryou came home with a box of cream puffs in his arms from the bakery in front of them. “I called in the order before we left. Let me pick it up and we'll go to our real destination.”

Kek stored the cream puffs in the small trunk on the back of his bike and drove even further away from the city. They stopped in front of an old, dilapidated house hidden behind a grove of maples and pines.

“I've seen this house online.” Ryou removed his helmet, fluffing his hair. “It's been abandoned for 63 years. The owners swear it's haunted.”

“Perfect place for a picnic, wouldn't you say?” Kek grabbed the cream puffs and a few other items.

Ryou bit his bottom lip. Kek worried Ryou might object to breaking and entering despite the place being empty and unwanted, but a slow smile spread across Ryou's face.

“Well, if we get caught, I suppose I'll blame Bakura for being a bad moral influence on me.”

“Nice plan.” Kek winked, leading the way and holding the gate open to the old estate.

“Wow, they don't even have locks on the gate. They must be confident the spirits will take care of intruders. Or they hope vandals will do enough damage for there to be an insurance claim, but I'm going to believe the spirit theory.”

“A few angry ghosts are nothing compared to the Shadow Realm.” Kek checked the knob—also unlocked—so they let themselves inside.

Upstairs, they found the master bedroom. Kek lay the fresh blanket he’d brought on top of the moth-eaten quilt covering the bed

“Amazing. They left all their furniture.” Ryou opened the walk-in closet and peeked inside. “Looks like they grabbed a suitcase's worth and left the rest. “I need to take pictures.”

Ryou pulled out his phone and snapped a few shots. He aimed his phone at Kek who held out his hands like claws while making a comically exaggerated scary-face. Ryou laughed and ran to the doorway.

“Let's explore the rest of the house!”

In a flash, he disappeared, his footsteps the only thing remaining. Their echoes haunted the hallway. Kek grinned to himself. His predatory nature burning inside him. Instead of running after Ryou, he decided to slowly stalk his prey—a wolf hunting a soft, white, rabbit.

He checked the top floor, but heard groans near the staircase, so Kek walked downstairs. Dust caked the furniture and the corners of the wall paper curled like ugly, yellowed, rotting rose blossoms. Kek peered into the kitchen. Something had leaked from the fridge long ago, leaving a dark stain pooling from the base of the fridge to the kitchen table.

A loud slam made Kek jump into the air. He spun and heard Ryou laughing.

“Jump scares are cheap, Ryou! I expected better from you!”

“Forgive me. Should I have slipped a knife to your throat and threatened you?” Ryou grinned.

“That would have been rather sexy.” Kek licked his lips.

“I’m hardly the kind of person to put a knife to someone’s throat—on a first date.” Ryou teased. “Ooooh, we have cream puffs. How did I forget?”

He jogged up the stairs and Kek followed. They sat cross legged on the blanket and split the box of cream puffs between them. The sun had slipped beneath the horizon as they drove out of town and explored the house. Now, moonlight spilled through the window, lighting them up in a silver square that made Ryou glow.

“Wow…” Kek exhaled, distracted by the sight.

“Hmm?” Ryou asked, licking cream off of his fingers.

“You’re just...it’s fucking criminal, really. How you look in the moonlight.”

“Thank you. I like the shadows your hair casts. Very creepy.” Ryou shoved a final cream puff into his mouth, moaning. “Those were so good. This was a fantastic date idea!”

Kek grinned and stretched onto his back. Cobwebs collected in the shadows on the ceiling. He heard mice scurry beneath the bed, but didn’t mention them. There were no ghosts, or perhaps there were, but they were too afraid of Kek to bother him and Ryou.

“Is it strange?” Ryou lay beside him. “That a creepy old house like this excites me?”

“You are asking the _wrong_ person,” Kek purred. “Darkness...the macabre...terror threatening to tear at the edges of my mind...I never stopped enjoying any of it. I only learned to control myself not to _act_ on every dark thought.”

“So does nothing scare you?” Ryou asked.

“The game,” he whispered, “behind the glass in Yugi’s shop.”

“Ah. Smart. That isn’t something you should ever touch.”

“Why not?”

“The pot would consume your soul. I don't think we could save you. I’d try, of course! But it’s better not to have to try, so never touch it..”

“Why would it consume my soul, but not yours?”

“If I were to remove the cards from the box while alone, or with anyone other than Bakura, it _would_ consume me—or perhaps it would steal whoever I played against. The game uses the principles of _yin_ and _yang_. There must be balance. When two break the seal to play the game it creates unbalance, and the pot takes the loser of the game in order to restore that balance.”

“Then how can you and Bakura play?”

“Because…” Ryou shrugged. “We’re already balanced. Our yin and yang complement each other so fully that removing the cards from the pot doesn’t break the magic seal.”

“So could Malik and I play?"

“No.” Ryou shook his head. “The two of you together are a little too yin. Yugi and Atem are a little too yang. In each case, you’d break the magical seal.”

“What if all six of us were in the room?”

“Well…” Ryou paused, thoughtful. “Good question. Honestly? I think it might work. I wouldn’t risk anyone’s soul to test it, however.”

“Then how did you and Bakura figure out you could play?”

“Because Bakura is a fucking idiot who saw a rare game behind glass and decided to steal it. I tried to warn him, but you know how poorly he listens to reason.” Ryou shook his head. “Once, Yugi told me how his soul had gotten lost inside the jar. It was only because Atem was able to defeat the original owner of the game that Yugi’s soul was freed. That was before I lived in Domino, however.”

“So what happened after Bakura stole the game?”

“I tried to take it back, but it unsealed while we were struggling. I was so angry that I made him play against me, won, sealed it again, and locked it away.”

“But if it didn’t claim either of yours souls, how’d you convince Bakura it was real?” Kek asked.

“Since I won, I told Bakura he had to go with me to return the game to the Shop and apologize for stealing it. When Yugi realized what happened, he cried. No, he became hysterical. Bakura couldn’t handle it. I’d never seen Bakura so _regretful_. Actually, I think that’s the moment Bakura started trying a little harder to be a—not good person, but a better one at least. I’m not 100% sure Bakura understands how dangerous that game is, he’s too used to playing with Shadow Magic to be concerned, but he knows he can’t stand it when Yugi cries, so he hasn’t messed with it without me since.”

“I think I remember that day.. I was still hiding in Yugi's room, but he came upstairs with puffy eyes and buried himself under all his covers with all his Duel Monster stuffed animals and slept for the rest of the day.”

“Yes. That was the day.” Ryou nodded.

“I sat near the foot of the bed. I didn’t know what happened, but had anyone gone near Yugi—I would have bit them. You should have punched Bakura for making Yugi cry.”

“He was punished enough. Punching him would have only eased his guilt. Anyway...” Ryou sat up. “This night has been wonderful, but I’m getting tired. If we don’t leave now, I’ll probably fall asleep here.”

“Only you would curl up in a haunted house for a nap.” Kek stood, folded the blanket, and grabbed the flashlight they hadn’t really used.

“It’s peaceful here.”

“Like a cemetery.” Kek chuckled.

“Maybe for our next date.” Ryou folded up the empty bakery box and shoved it in his pocket to throw away later.

Kek bit his bottom lip. The thought of second dates (and third and forth) with Yugi and Ryou made his heart race. He wondered what they’d like to do together. Usually their dates were movie nights, but Kek wanted to drag them out of the house at least once for an official date. They packed everything into the motorcycle before mounting and driving back to Domino. The night was clear, and Kek appreciated the cool air on his nervous, burning skin.

When they reached their house, Kek walked Ryou to his bedroom door, expecting to repeat the scene he’d had with Yugi—a sweet goodnight, a sweeter kiss, the thrill of thinking about them for the rest of the evening. Ryou teased Kek’s hair, giving him a lidded stare that upgraded Kek’s heartbeat from racing to frenzied.

“Kek...do you like to play games slow...or fast?”

“Fast,” Kek said without hesitation. It was like the race track. He enjoyed riding towards his goal in a rush.Sometimes he’d slow down, for the pain of waiting, but his heart always wanted to go fast.

Ryou grabbed Kek's hair, tugged him closer, and slipped his tongue into Kek’s mouth. Kek sighed, dissolving into Ryou's roughness, craving more. It was easy to melted into the way Ryou pushed their mouths together, to relax and allow Ryou to press him more firmly against the door. When Ryou broke away, his eyes were dilated with arousal. Kek bit his lip; his body screamed to grab Ryou, rake his back, bite his throat, and beg, beg, beg for Ryou to do the same. The urge was so brutal that Kek trembled from retraining himself.

“You can sleep with us tonight, if you want to play fast,” Ryou said as if it were the simplest matter.

He must have already talked it over with Yugi. He was too calm and prepared, waiting to see how Kek would respond.

Kek’s breath hitched as the real meaning of Ryou’s question struck him. His gaze flitted toward the door. Yugi would be waiting within. Ryou was inviting him to join them. Did he want this now? Or did he want to play it slow, spend more time dreaming about when it _finally_ happen. Did he want to plunge in between them, or make himself wait and suffer as he yearned for them? He'd spent the last seven years restraining, redirecting, and reprogramming his urges. Kek decided that for once he wanted to indulge, to glutton himself on pleasure. He lifted Ryou into his arms and kicked in the door.

Yugi screamed at the crash. His sharp cry excited Kek further. He kicked the door closed with his foot, but he'd damaged the latch and it didn’t close. Tossing Ryou onto the bed, Kek used a chair beneath the doorknob to prop it shut.

“I suppose this means he wants to join us.” Ryou, sprawled on the bed from where Kek threw him, glanced upward at Yugi.

“Fuck yes I do!” Kek belly flopped onto the bed between them.

He rolled onto his back, licking his lips. Yugi's outfit caught his gaze. Yugi wore a chest harness of leather straps and a black thong. Spiked bracelets traveled up his arms and a matching choker hugged his throat. He was ready for them, and Kek lowered his lids.

“You look good,” he murmured to Yugi in a low, heavy voice.

“Kek.” Yugi climbed onto Kek's chest. Yanking Kek's hair, he forced Kek's eyes to meet his own. “This is my house. You do not trash my stuff.”

“Or you'll punish me?” Kek giggled. “Do your worst.”

“You don’t deserve to be punished if you’re going to break the door.”

“I guess I’ll check online and look up how to fix it tomorrow.” Kek chuckled. Yugi didn’t appear upset, but his expression was a little more serious than normal.

That seriously wasn’t so much concern for the door, however, there was something else to it, a playful slyness he was trying to mask. He bumped his and Kek’s noses together.

“So, I take it you’ll be a little disappointed if we’re gentle, won’t you?”

“Not disappointed.” Kek’s smile grew soft. He brushed his knuckles against Yugi’s cheek. “I’m just happy to be here.”

“Ryou, could you hand me my paddle?” Yugi held out his hand.

“You mean this one?”

Kek had been so distracted with Yugi, he hadn't noticed Ryou sneak to the closet and pull out a wooden paddle. Ryou had the faintest smile, but it was wicked.

"Yes. Thank you." Yugi's smile grew bright when he saw Ryou had anticipated his plan before he had to ask.

“Oh…oh, fuck yes,” Kek's gut boiled in excitement.

This was not going as imagined, he thought Ryou and Yugi would be the types to kiss for a long time with the covers over them because they were embarrassed. He’d been utterly wrong, but he rather liked the new direction.

Ryou passed off the wooden toy and crawled onto the bed. His hair hung around his face like the rags of a ghost. The wild, possessed look made Kek's cock stir. Together, Yugi and Ryou stripped Kek's pants and boxers away—leaving his legs bare—tugged his shirt over his shoulders, and turned him onto his hands and knees. Ryou stood and walked to face Kek. With deliberate flourishes of his fingers, he unbuttoned his shirt and gave Kek and Yugi a strip tease. Yugi kissed across Kek’s shoulders, stopping now and then to watch Ryou drop his layers, one at a time, onto the floor. Naked, Ryou leaned close and whispered into Kek's ear.

“If you don't want to do something, tell us. If you have questions, ask us. I'm going to be watching you, and if at any time you look uncomfortable, I'm going to call a timeout. If I or Yugi asks a question, please answer us even if you're distracted, because if you don't, we’ll have to slow down or stop to make sure you're okay.”

"Like Yugi's capable of hurting anyone!" Kek tossed his head back and laughed.

Without warning, Yugi tested the paddle against Kek’s ass. Kek yelped in surprise at the sudden sting and loud _clap_. Tugging his hair, Yugi gazed down at Kek. Kek’s belly somersaulted at the intensity of Yugi’s gaze. His cock leaked pre-come as he savored the gentle sting emanating from his skin where the wood had struck him.

Yugi brushed their noses together for an instant before asking, “Do you understand everything Ryou explained?”

Flushed and trembling with excitement, Kek nodded. He swallowed, his breath shallow as he anticipated what would come next.

"Say you understand out loud, please," Ryou insisted.

"I-I understand."

“Good.” Yugi leaned over enough to kiss Kek.

Kek savored the taste of each kiss, using his tongue as much as he pleased. Yugi moved behind Kek, kissing his shoulders again. He paused, resting his fingers just beyond the boarder of Kek’s wings.

“May I kiss your back? Or is that off limits tonight?”

“Yes, you can kiss my back,” Kek answered, quickly so they didn’t stop what he was doing.

Ryou cupped Kek’s cheek, giving him a warm smile. “Thank you for answering right away. That was very good.”

Kek blushed at Ryou’s words. He thought he’d wanted quick bites and scratching, but this was even better—a strange tightrope where he might get a smack on the ass or praised. Yugi’s nails grazed his ribs and he trembled; Yugi’s lips brushed far too tenderly against his scars and Kek swooned. Ryou crawled onto the bed again and settled onto his stomach. He rested his chin in both hands, gazing at Kek even as Yugi’s mouth travelled over the god cards on his back. Kek’s face wouldn’t stop burning as Ryou stared at him.

“Are you going to watch the entire time?” Kek squirmed. Ryou’s stare filled his stomach with butterflies, and Yugi’s kisses trailing down his body weren’t helping.

“Until I’m satisfied that you’re enjoying yourself. Am I making you nervous?”

“I want to kiss you,” Kek whimpered.

“Of course.” Ryou arched upward.

Kek lowered his face so their mouths could reach. Ryou’s kisses were languid, allowing Kek to experiment with different ways to move their mouths together. He sucked on Ryou’s lower lip, then his top lip, he slipped his tongue into Ryou’s mouth and then trailed along the corner of Ryou's mouth. Yugi smacked Kek’s ass a second time and he jolted from the shock.

“Does it hurt?” Ryou asked.

“No, it's nice,” Kek purred.

The area stung, but Yugi wasn’t hitting hard. It only made Kek crave more. More from Yugi, and more from Ryou. He dove into their kisses again, twirling his tongue. The next smack from Yugi’s paddle was more anticipated, so Kek hardly flinched. It sent tingling sensations through his nerves, made him desperate for more—another slap of lacquered wood against his skin, another silky kiss from Ryou's lips—he wanted more of everything. _Everything_. When Yugi spread Kek’s cheeks and flicked his tongue across Kek’s entrance, Kek cried out and arched his back. Yugi cycloned his tongue.

“ _Oh God_!” Kek shouted.

Yugi pulled away, smacking Kek with his hand. He didn’t give Kek a chance to recover before plunging his tongue into Kek’s hole. Kek wailed in pleasure. He burned as if lava golem were wrapped around him. Yugi continued to alternate between teasing Kek’s asshole and smacking his ass. Ryou scooted closer and kissed Kek’s neck. Ryou bit at the same time Yugi smacked, and Kek’s eyes slammed closed, shutting out the room so he could savor the sensations of both of them toying with him at once. Kek fumbled his hand down Ryou’s chest, slipping lower and lower until his fingers found Ryou’s hard cock. Kek squeezed Ryou’s flesh and kneaded his palm around Ryou’s cockhead.

“ _Ah_!” Ryou’s nails dug into Kek’s shoulders.

“Scream louder.” Kek nibbled on the bud of Ryou’s nipple.

“ _Ahh_! Kek!” Ryou shouted.

The more he touched Ryou, the more Yugi licked around his asshole, the more Kek wanted them. His cock strained—desperate for touch—but he was too busy dragging squeals of delight from Ryou’s mouth to attend to his own arousal. Yugi gave Kek another deliberate lick. Kek slammed his ass backward, mad with need. He growled, working Ryou’s cock more fiercely.

“Yugi…” Ryou gasped. “He’s ready.”

Yugi jumped up, wiping his mouth as he ran to the closet. He brought back a bottle of lube and a 15cm long vibraitor. After another playful slap, Yugi doused the toy in lube, set the speed to the medium setting, and tormented Kek’s entrance without penetrating.

“Dammit, Yugi!” Kek’s gripped the bedsheets with his free hand—the other continued to stroke Ryou. "Quit teasing."

“You broke my door,” Yugi said, showing no signs of letting up on his torture.

“I was excited.” Kek chuckled, sweat beading his brow because of how badly he _wanted this_.

“I don’t know...Ryou, what do you think?”

“Dammit, Yugi. Stop teasing him, so he stops teasing me.” Ryou's face was a red mess of desire. His breaths were ragged huffs and a drop of sweat rolled down the hollow of his throat.

Kek laughed a little harder. Yugi responded by slipping the vibraitor into Kek’s ass. His eyes opened wide as he gasped. Kek had only stroked himself—alone or on the computer with Malik. He’d never attempted anal play, and the vibraitor inside him wracked the inside of his body with shivers of pleasure. Kek openly whimpered. He dropped to his forearms, unable to hold himself upright.

Ryou hissed, impatient when Kek’s hand dropped away. Kek grinned, a few spines of yellow hair fell into his eyes and he gazed at Ryou. Kek was half out of his mind with the feeling of Yugi sliding the toy in and out, but nevertheless, it was nice to hear Ryou sound as desperate as he was. Kek stretched out his long tongue. He traced the perimeter of Ryou’s hood. Ryou bucked, shoving his cock to Kek’s lips. Kek rewarded Ryou’s impatience with a french kiss around Ryou's cockhead.

“ _Ah!_ ” Ryou grabbed his shaft and angled his cock close enough for Kek to run his tongue over the full length of Ryou’s burning erection.

Sealing his lips around Ryou’s shaft, Kek bobbed his head as he hinged his hips back and forth. His stomach grew tight, his balls ached for want of an orgasm. Yugi turned off the toy and added more lube. He slipped his cock deep into Kek’s body. Kek moaned, forcing himself to continue sucking Ryou’s cock even when Yugi bucked forward and made Kek want to call out.

“ _Nnngghh!_ ” Ryou fisted Kek’s hair and guided his cock in and out of Kek’s mouth.

Kek relaxed his jaw, allowing Ryou to control the movement while he focused on pressing his tongue to the underside of Ryou’s cock and keeping his lips pressed around Ryou. Yugi held Kek's hips, ploughing into him. Kek wanted so _badly_ to grab his own dick, to scream and come until he passed out between them, but Ryou was too close to stop, so Kek took Ryou deeper into his mouth.

"Oh please! Oh please! One more minute… Just like that…" Ryou begged.

Kek went as fast as he could manage. Each act was new, but he more or less knew what to do. Kek found that making love was as natural to him as snapping a neck, but this he could indulge in without guilt. Infact, he could indulge in pleasure Ryou and Yugi all night long with only wonderful consequences afterward, so Kek didn't hold back. He sucked harder, moved faster, making Ryou moan. He also hinged against Yugi’s thrusts, squeezing Yugi with his ass so each slide in and out was tight and hot.

"Kek!" Ryou sputtered and howled when he came.

Kek held his breath as he swallowed, surprised at the heat filling his mouth. Ryou released a final, satisfied sigh and dropped to his side. He gave Kek a sleepy smile as he struggled to catch his breath while Yugi still hammered him from behind.

“How are you doing?” Ryou asked.

“Please,” Kek whined, near wild from the pleasure. “Touch me. I need to come. I need to come. I need to come.”

“Okay.” Ryou kissed him before fetching the lube.

He paused next to Yugi, kissing his neck and whispering into Yugi's ear.

“Ryou, please!”

Yugi slapped Kek's ass again as a mocking reprimand, but it only served to excite Kek further and make him need to come even more than before. Ryou caressed the inside of Kek's thigh. Kek growled in frustration.

“No! No teasing! Just touch me!”

Yugi and Ryou muttered to each other. Kek couldn't hear them, but he was aching with need and ready to call a timeout to scold them, but before he parted his lips to speak, Ryou filled his palm with lube and coated Kek's cock.

“Yes! Gods yes!” Kek's voice cracked as he wailed.

 _Heka_ washed over Kek's body. Ryou's magic was intense and white. It reminded Kek of a lotus blossom. Yugi's _heka_ thrummed with the familiar power of the gods. Kek felt this force before—in Atem—seven years ago when they returned to life.

“I'm—I'm going to c— _mmmm_.” Yugi stuttered and moaned as he slammed forward.

While Yugi came, tears welled in the corners of Kek's eyes. The beauty of their souls mixing together with his own was overwhelming. In a tornado of swirling magic, and lust, and affection, Kek released a final cry, coming as well before collapsing onto the mattress.

“Kek?” Ryou held his face and wiped the tears from his cheeks.

“Oh no, was I too rough?” Yugi wrapped his arms around Kek. “I'll be more gentle. Next time we can—”

“It's...b-beautiful.” Kek wept.

He knew they couldn't feel the magic thrumming around them. Maybe Ryou sensed it, but Kek could _see_ it. It glittered, surrounding them, and it was beautiful.

“Are these happy tears?” Ryou asked, though he still dried Kek's face.

Kek nodded, relieved Ryou understood.

“Oh you scared me.” Yugi buried his face against Kek's chest.

“I've loved you both for so long.” Kek confessed, wholly unashamed of his emotions as always. “And to finally express it...there aren’t words for this.”

“I'm so happy!” Yugi sprang up and kissed Kek's mouth. Next, he kissed Ryou before Ryou kissed Kek. Yugi combed his fingers through Kek’s sweat-damp bangs. “I'm sorry it took me so long to ask you out. Oh! How was your date tonight?”

“It was amazing!” Ryou's face lit up.

He and Kek took turns explaining their date to Yugi. Afterward, they lay in each other's arms and chatted until they fell asleep mid-conversation. In the morning, Ryou made the bed with an extra pillow, patting it and winking at Kek. Kek laughed, understanding Ryou’s silent invitation, and continued to fix the hinges on their bedroom door.


	10. Bakura

Bakura marched into the club as if he owned it. He'd been…thinking too much the last few weeks, and he was sick of being Deep. He wanted to drink, dance, listen to music, and get a break from the thoughts piling on top of him and crushing him. Swaying his hips, Bakura made his way to the bar, but before he reached it, Atem intercepted his path and offered him a cup.

“What's this?” Bakura asked. 

“Whiskey. It's...you know, a ‘thanks’ for punching that guy last week.”

“ _Heh_ , okay.” Bakura slammed it down, coughing. “How do you drink it straight?” 

“It's not so bad.” Atem slammed the other shot in his hand before throwing away their cups. 

They spoke loud enough to compete with the music. In the past, they had danced back to back, acting as if it were coincidence each time, but neither one of them ever did something openly friendly—like buy the other a drink.

Bakura knew this, too, was a lie. Walking Atem home two weeks in a row was pretty damn chummy. There wasn’t really a point to pretend otherwise anymore. 

But that went in the box of Things Bakura Was Tired Of Thinking About. No more thinking. Time to act. He rested his hand on Atem's shoulder, leaning close to his ear.

“I'm too flamboyant to be drinking straight whiskey. Second round’s on me.” Bakura dashed off before Atem could protest. 

He returned with two bright pink cosmopolitans with lime and orange twists garnishing the plastic cups. 

“That’s...bright.” Atem raised an eyebrow. 

“Shut up and drink it!” Bakura handed him one of the drinks, sipping on his own. 

“It’s sweet.” Atem pulled a face. 

“Yeah. You can’t taste the alcohol. It’s great.” 

They nursed their second drinks, standing next to each other and swaying slightly with music. Each sip helped Bakura relax—which was good because he didn’t want to think about what he was planning to do. Once his head was light and his cup empty, Bakura tossed the containers in the trash, grabbed Atem, and pulled him into the middle of the dance floor. 

“Ba-Bakura?” Atem stuttered, eyes wide. Bakura couldn’t help savoring the fear he saw as he pulled their bodies together. 

“Figured no one will bother you if we’re like this.” Bakura rested one hand on Atem’s hip and the other on Atem’s ass. 

Atem’s breath hitched. His dark eyes focused on Bakura, and Bakura winked. It was hard to tell in the club, but he was pretty sure Atem was blushing. A song with a quick beat and filthy lyrics played through the speakers. Perfect. Bakura guided Atem’s hips side to side. Their dancing was almost more grinding than independent movement, but it quieted his mind and allowed his instincts to take over. 

Atem clung to him. Frightened as he looked when Bakura brought them closer, he clung to Bakura’s shoulders as if his greatest fear was Bakura pushing Atem away—which was probably the reason why Atem always acted so skittish around Bakura and Yugi. Stupid, stupid, stupid Pharaoh. If it wasn’t a game where the gods would guarantee a victory, Atem acted like a nervous kitten in a strange house. 

The music slowed down, but the lyrics were no less filthy for the change of pace. Bakura rolled his belly and hips, pressing his forehead against Atem’s. Atem openly gasped for breath, eyes shut, but lips parted. Gravity pulled Bakura closer to Atem’s mouth. He brushed their cheeks together, still swaying, still clutching Atem as if to tell him _stop—worrying—about—it._ He was sliding his lips, closer...closer...almost brushing their mouths together. 

Atem pulled back. “Have you ever tried a tequila sunrise?” 

“No.” Bakura rubbed his face, wanting to scream. 

“I’ll buy you one!” Atem rushed away. 

Killing the Pharaoh. Kissing the Pharaoh. Seemed like the gods didn’t care _what_ Bakura did—they merely wanted to taunt him when he failed. The drink was beautiful, thought not as beautiful as Atem. Bakura took a sip, and he was too buzzed to notice the tequila. 

“Do you like it?” Atem asked. 

“Yeah,” Bakura confessed. “I should make these for Malik. I bet he’d dig the name.” 

“When’s his next visit?” 

“Not soon enough.” Bakura looked away. 

Malik was also on the Things-Not-To-Think-About list. Not that he could ever _stop_ thinking about Malik, but he didn’t want to think about how far away Malik was, or how long it’d be until Bakura saw him again. 

“I’m sorry.” Atem rested a hand on Bakura’s shoulder. 

“Bet I can finish this faster than you.” Bakura chugged his drink. 

Atem laughed, trying to catch up, but failing. Once their hands were free, Bakura grabbed him again and continued dancing. He flipped Atem around, so he could grind against Atem’s ass. Atem leaned back, softly moaning. Bakura couldn’t hear it over the music, but he could feel the purr of it rumbling against his chest from how close they stood. He waited until Atem’s body language was fully relaxed. 

But when Bakura brought Atem’s wrist to his face, nuzzling against Atem’s pulse point and brushing his bottom lip against Atem’s skin—Atem disappeared again and returned with three jello shots for each of them. Bakura accepted them, giving up for the night. The Pharaoh was not in the mood to be seduced despite the fact that it seemed to be the thing he wanted more than anything else. Bakura stuck with dancing—lurid, sultry, they might as well be fucking the way they pressed together—dancing. This, for some odd reason, was fine with Atem. 

It was driving Bakura crazy, but he didn’t want to think about it, so he just settled for enjoying the moment for what it was—whatever it was. Bakura didn’t know. 


	11. Atem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These kinda go together and are only separated b/c of the pov shift, so I'm posting them together

“I should probably head home.” Atem said after they’d had a jello shot in every color the rainbow could offer. 

“Yeah…” Bakura crossed his arms over his chest. 

He looked depressed. Atem wanted to curl his arms around him, relax in his embrace, stop panicking everytime Bakura leaned in close enough to taste. Instead, he muttered an excuse about using the bathroom. Away from the music, Atem splashed his face with cold water. He gritted his teeth. Furious. He was furious for being a coward. Atem stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He was a king, and kings didn't run when confronted by their enemies...whom they wanted to make out with. Atem blinked, wondering how he'd gotten so drunk.

Fuck it. He wanted to kiss Bakura so badly his mouth ached. Jaw set in a hard line, Atem marched into the crowds. He’d grab Bakura, smash their mouths together, and he _wouldn’t worry_ about what happened afterwards. 

He scanned through the bright lights and people dancing and neon, glowing tiles, but Bakura was nowhere in sight. Atem sighed and rubbed his temple. Of course Bakura snuck away, Atem had been rejecting Bakura every time he advanced, so why would Bakura stick around? Weight crushed Atem’s chest. His eyes felt like they’d been dipped in gasoline then held above a lit match. 

Shoulders slumped, Atem trudged out of the club and headed home alone. The night was quiet, only the faint thrum of base echoed in the air, and that faded with each step. As he passed the first alley, the glint of steel flashing in the streetlight caught his eye. Bakura stood pressed against a brick wall, a knife pressed to his throat. Three thugs, an unfortunately generic and common sight in Domino, surrounded him, laughing and demanding his money. Bakura smirked despite the edge kissing his skin. The shadows twisted on his amused face, and he looked far more dangerous than any of his attackers.

Bakura was the King of Thieves, more than capable of taking care of himself. But the sight of a knife to Bakura’s throat ignited a deep, savage rage inside of Atem. Without thinking, Atem snatched two empty beer bottles lying in the alley. He smashed the bottoms of both against the brick wall and sprinted toward the muggers _daring_ to attack Bakura. 

“Atem?” Bakura glanced sideways, confusion on his face. 

Atem lunged. The first thug didn’t even have a chance to pull out his weapon before Atem plunged the jagged glass into the side of the man’s face. After disposing of the first punk, Atem leapt on top of the second. They both crashed to the pavement below. Atem stabbed the man in the chest several times, screaming. Bakura hooked his arms around Atem’s and pulled him to his feet.

“They’re all down. Let’s bail.” 

“Fuck them! Let me go! I’ll fucking—”

“Okay. Up we go.” Bakura slung Atem over his shoulder. 

Atem lost his last broken bottle, the other still lodged in the side of the first thug’s face. He reached for it, nowhere near done teaching the bastards a lesson. 

“Let go! Bakura you don’t care if people get hurt so stop acting rational!” 

“Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not Malik.” Bakura rushed out of the alley and down the street, putting distance between Atem and his targets. 

“You’ve been through enough! I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt any more!” Atem shrieked as Bakura carried him down the street. 

“You’re my knight in shining armor—dual wielding broken bottles and everything.” Bakura laughed. “But I’m not hurt, so it’s time to bounce. Those guys aren’t even worth your time.” 

“It’s not fair! You got to punch the other guy who harassed me!” 

“I didn’t stab him, Atem.” 

“It’s not my fault you’ve gone soft.” 

“Oh fuck you!” Bakura dropped Atem to his feet. Atem stumbled, but caught his balance. 

“Where are we?” Atem’s brow furrowed as he stared at a smaller apartment complex. 

“Home,” Bakura said. 

“This isn’t my apartment.” Atem glanced around. He wasn’t sure what neighborhood they were in. 

“No. It’s mine. Come on, I’ll brew some coffee.” 

Atem didn’t have a choice. Bakura dragged him to the elevator and to an apartment on the 7th floor. Atem blushed, unsure if coffee was an innuendo or not. He was a little disappointed when Bakura grabbed a Turkish Coffee Pot. 

“Don’t pout.” Bakura pointed at him.The gesture was stern, not his usual, shit eating humor finger gun. “It’s your fault we both have clothes on right now.” 

“Why? Because I stabbed a few people? It wasn’t that big of a deal.” Atem glared at Bakura, mad about how Bakura managed to guess Atem’s thoughts. 

“I don’t give a fuck about that. _You’re_ the one who’d feel bad if we had to wake Yugi and Ryou at 2AM to bail us out of prison because some street punks bled out in an alleyway.” Bakura gradually heated the water for their coffee. “We're not going to have sex because you were dancing around the issue more than you were dancing with me at the club.”

“It was easier with the Puzzle.” Atem leaned against the kitchen counter, hugging himself. 

“Shit, I know. Everything was easy with the Items, but life’s a bitch and here we are alive.” 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Atem slumped to the floor, pressing his forehead to his knees. “I saw them trying to hurt you, and I lost it.” 

“Atem.” Bakura crouched in front of him, resting his hands on top of Atem’s. “What do you need?” 

“What do you mean?” Atem glanced up and met Bakura’s concerned gaze. 

“Right now. What do you need? Do you need to scream? To hit something? Cry? Whatever you need—do it.” 

“I…”

“Don’t think. _Do it_.” 

Atem flung himself at Bakura, squeezing him. 

“Okay.” Bakura nodded, stroking Atem’s locked hair. “Okay, then. Let me finish the coffee and we’ll do this.” 

“Why, Bakura? Why are you okay with this?” 

“Bitch, I don’t know.” Bakura pulled two coffee cups out of the dishwasher. He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot against the linoleum. “Does Yugi know? The real reason you came back? Because you were upset and wanted to change things?” 

Atem shook his head, waving Bakura’s statement away with his hand. “If I try to mention anything along the lines of ‘I should have done better’ I get the exact same ‘it wasn’t your fault’ lecture. He thinks talking about it will make me feel bad, so I stopped trying to have that conversation years ago.” 

“I’m shit at talking, so I’m not going to give out advice about your conversations, but you’d probably feel better if you talked about it more.” Bakura poured the coffee into two cups. “Cream?” 

“Whiskey?” 

“Atem. No.”

“Seriously, Bakura. When did you become such a boy scout? It’s the weekend.” 

“I'm still plenty drunk from those jello shots, and I don’t have whiskey. I only carry mixers for bright pink cocktails that say _ravage me; I’m a bottom._ ” 

Atem choked on his coffee laughing. He stumbled to his feet and took another sip, this time keeping it down. 

“Didn’t realize there was a code. Guess I’ve been drinking the wrong things.” 

“Look…” Bakura exhaled before sitting on the counter. “You won’t hear me say nothing was your fault in the same way you won’t hear me say nothing was my fault, but at the end of the day, I think we both need to accept that Zorc was playing all of us and we fell for it.” 

Atem grunted, drinking his coffee. 

“But he’s gone, and we’re here, so fuck 3,000 years ago. We can’t do shit about it. I’m doing my best not to fuck up _today_ let alone fix the unredeemable heap which was my first life. From now on, we’re thinking of this as a new campaign.” Bakura finished the last of his coffee, jumped off the counter, and scooped Atem bridal-style into his arms. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Going to bed. I don’t want to stand in the kitchen all night long.” 

“My cup—”

Bakura grabbed Atem’s empty mug and tossed it into the sink. It banked against the metal, but somehow didn’t break. Atem sighed and rested his head on Bakura’s shoulder. Bakura dumped Atem on top of the mattress and stripped. Atem locked his stare on Bakura’s bread-brown body as he revealed it layer by layer. His gaze lingered at the gold hoops poking from Bakura's nipples. When Bakura was down to his boxer briefs, he crawled beneath the blanket. Atem blinked, perturbed that Bakura had ended the show so quickly. 

“I—I guess, I should—”

“Well, I’m not sleeping in my club clothes. They’re uncomfortable.” Bakura stretched beneath the covers. 

Atem stood and slipped out his shirt and pants. 

“Cute.” Bakura smirked when he saw the black thong. 

“Those pants don’t look right otherwise,” Atem explained. 

Bakura tugged the corner of the top cover and gestured for Atem to join him beneath the blankets. Atem eased next to Bakura, tense, as if there might be vipers hiding beneath the blankets. Bakura jerked Atem closer, squeezing with both arms. Atem held his breath, waiting. Waiting for a kiss, a caress, a buck of the hips, anything to get them started. It took a minute before Atem realized they were only cuddling. 

“Bakura?” 

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Bakura asked. 

Atem wanted a lot of things...he cupped Bakura’s face and stared at him. Bakura gave him a crooked grin, and Atem traced the scar running down Bakura’s cheek. Atem closed his eyes, pulling their faces closer. He felt out Bakura’s mouth, sucking on his bottom lip for an exhilarating three seconds before releasing him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Bakura looking back on him.

“Sorry...for back at the club. It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you...but I...it feels like you should still hate me.” 

“Atem.” Bakura rolled onto his back, pulling Atem even closer and pressing Atem’s head so he used Bakura’s chest as a pillow. “I’m not going to get into how bad it was in the Shadow Realm, but...it was bad…” 

Bakura paused, swallowing. 

“Real bad. There was no more Zorc to numb me, and without him I hated myself so much I figured I deserved what I was going through, but that didn't ease my suffering. And I'm not exactly the pious sort, knowing the gods are real never made me hate them less because where were they when Kul Elna burned? But then, a light appeared in the Shadows, and it was...I can't explain it. The relief...the yearning I had for that light, and it kept growing, and it wrapped around me, and I could feel the power and love of the gods, and...it... _changed me_ , to experience that. It changed me down to my core…and if what you said last week is true, and you're the one who pulled me out…that was you...” 

Bakura squeezed Atem in his arms, unable to finish his speech. Atem buried his face against Bakura's chest. 

“Okay,” Atem whispered, holding back tears. “I suppose if you can forgive me, I can learn to forgive myself.” 

“Kinda what I thought the moment you came and saved me from the Shadow Realm.” 

Atem sighed, finally letting go a little. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with Bakura's warm embrace all around him. 


	12. Bakura

Bakura sucked in a breath, waking. His memories were sluggish. He'd gotten too drunk the night before. He was pretty sure he'd rambled. Atem sleeping in Bakura's arms brought the night rushing back to him. Bakura chuckled at the memory of Atem going feral on random street thugs. 

The entire night was funny when Bakura thought of it. The entire last seven years. He couldn't cope. There was no way to deal with the emotions inside him. His pain, his loss, all the suffering of his childhood left him raw, but he still remembered the light pulling him from the Shadows. That beautiful, warm, loving light, and it was in his arms, and Bakura was too greedy to let it go. 

With his free hand, he reached for his cell phone and snapped a selfie of him and Atem. Atem's hair scattered in long, multi-colored ropes. His expression was peaceful as he curled against Bakura's chest. Bakura's own ashen hair was a mess from sleeping, but he knew Malik would find the look sexy. He sent the picture to Malik in a text.

_He followed me home. Can I keep him?_

Bakura didn't expect an answer, figuring Malik would be asleep, but his phone vibrated an instant later.

_OMG! DID YOU SLEEP WITH THE PHARAOH?!?!_

Bakura snorted. _Yeah. Literally._

_Don't be smart with me. Did you fuck him?_

_No. Worse. We cuddled._ Bakura swyped. 

_That's hilarious!_

_Shut-up._

_I'm going to show this picture to Isis and tell her you're both friends now._

_Bitch I *dare* you to._

_Think I won't?_ Malik asked.

_I know you won't. You're all talk._

_We'll see. Won't we?_

_Get your ass to sleep. What are you even doing awake?_ Bakura asked.

 _I had my sound on in case you messaged me,_ Malik replied.

_Really?_

_Yeah_

_Well, don't do that! Sleep instead!_

_But I love you ;)_

Bakura blushed, reading the message twice.

_I love you too, now go back to bed_

_Okay <3_

"I can tell you're talking to Malik because of the look on your face," Atem's voice cut into Bakura's thoughts. 

"Yeah." Bakura sighed, setting down the phone.

"You miss him, don't you?" 

"Of course I do," Bakura said.

"When's his next visit?" 

"Not soon enough." Bakura settled beneath the blankets. "I'm not ready to get up yet." 

Atem sighed in relief, sinking his weight on top of Bakura's chest again so they could go back to sleep for another hour.


	13. Malik

"Hey Malik." Kek grinned into the camera as soon as he answered the call.

Intellectually, Malik knew they were once the same person, but he couldn't believe it when he looked at Kek. Kek's grin devoured his face, cheeks rounded and eyes crinkled. Malik never made that face, nor were his features quite as rounded as Kek's. 

Malik remembered how they'd stripped and compared bodies when Kek explained he had a birthmark. Naturally, they'd decided to compare cocks, and after stroking themselves hard and examining each other, Malik had sat back in his office chair, given Kek a _fuck me_ stare, and began pleasuring himself. Kek's eyes had widened, but he'd followed suit. So their habit of fooling around either by text or webcam began. He'd always wanted to pull Bakura into their session one day, but wasn't sure how Kek would feel about it. Neither of them ever mentioned Battle City, or holding old grudges, but they didn't hang out much either, so Malik wasn’t sure. 

"You're smiling more than normal, what's up?" Malik found himself unable to hold back his own smile. Kek's face was beaming too brightly for the joy not to be somewhat contagious.

"I started dating."

"Yeah? Who's the lucky...person?" Malik asked. 

In past conversations, Kek mostly mentioned male duelists he found attractive, but he wasn't above crushing on the occasional female gothic punk rockstar, so Malik didn't want to assume.

That was another way in which they were completely different. 

"First Yugi. Then Ryou. And then Yugi and Ryou." Kek flushed hard enough for it to show even on camera. "They're on a date with each other tonight, but tomorrow we're going to have a movie marathon." 

"Good. I'm glad for you." Malik's smile widened. 

He listened as Kek explained his dates, his job, and the new album he'd downloaded. Malik showed him the picture of Bakura and Atem and they both laughed until they couldn't breath. Cute as the picture was, it was still hilarious to think of Thief King and Pharaoh snuggling together on a Saturday morning. Finally, they settled; Kek yawned and stretched in his seat.

"I better go to bed. It's my turn to cook breakfast in the morning." 

"Okay, but, before you go... I have a favor to ask. I'm going to be in town in a few days, and I was wondering if I could crash over there?" 

"Of course, but…" Kek frowned. "Are you fighting with Bakura?" 

"When am I _not_ fighting with Bakura?" Malik laughed. "Actually, this is a surprise _for_ Bakura. I bought a house, but I need to sign the final paperwork in person. I could stay at a hotel, I just thought it'd be fun to spend some time with you and the others." Malik shrugged. "Unless you're too busy getting used to dating life. It won't hurt my feelings if that’s the case." 

"I'd like to see you." The smile on Kek's face softened, but then sprang into its former hyper-expressive glory a second later. "And you're getting a house? Here? Does that mean you're spending more time in Domino?" 

"Quite a bit more time." Malik nodded.

"Oh damn! I'm so stoked. This is going to be great! Just let me know when you'll be down, and I'll make sure to tell Yugi and Ryou." 

"I will... thanks, Kek." 

"This is so exciting. I'm going to see if the others are home so I can tell them. Night!" Kek blew Malik a kiss before disconnecting the call. 

Malik bit his lower lip. The closer it got for him to move, the more excited he was. He couldn't wait to see the look on Bakura's dumb face we he saw their new house. 


	14. Yugi

Yugi walked down the hall toward Kek's old room. When he and Ryou came home to an empty bedroom, they worried Kek might have banished himself to his old bed out of unnecessary consideration for Ryou and Yugi's privacy. 

Kek met him halfway. He hoisted Yugi into the air, spun him in a circle, and snatched a quick kiss. 

"Did you have a nice night?" Kek asked.

"Yeah, but we miss you. Come to bed." Yugi locked his arms around Kek’s neck. 

"Sorry, I was talking to Malik, and my computer is still in my old room." Kek carried Yugi bridal style toward their shared room.

"Is that what you were doing? You can talk longer if you need to. We only wanted to make sure you weren’t being polite and hiding." Yugi's heart raced as Kek carried him. It was nice to be whisked away in a pair of strong arms. 

"Thanks for checking on me." Kek set Yugi down, seizing his lips again.

Yugi moaned and tugged at Kek's shirt. He led him through the door to where Ryou waited beneath the covers.

Kek set Yugi down and then jumped between them. "Guess what?" 

"What?" Yugi stripped off his clothes. 

"Malik bought a house in Domino! He's coming down in a few days to sign paperwork but wants to stay here because it’s the new place is going to be a surprise for Bakura." 

"How wonderful." Ryou rested a hand over his heart. "Bakura's going to be so happy. I can't wait to see his face. We should do something. We should throw a housewarming party for Malik. I can make snacks." 

"We can get Atem to help us plan games," Yugi suggested. "This is going to be so much fun."

“Great. We’ll organize it tomorrow.” Kek pulled off his shirt. 

“And tonight, we can have our own party.” Yugi tugged Kek’s pants around his ankles and slipped beneath the covers. 


	15. Atem

Atem didn't knock. Yugi had given him a key years ago and he always let himself in. He'd handed Yugi a key to his own apartment so Yugi could do the same, but he still knocked when he visited Atem. Atem suspected this was also his fault—he ran away too much, so Yugi stayed cautious around him.

Atem shook his thoughts away. He found Yugi, Kek, and Ryou snuggling together on the sofa. A horror movie blasted from the television. Someone screamed as a hoard of zombies tore them to pieces. Unable to help himself, Atem tip-toed behind them. A grin spread across his lips as he drew close without anyone noticing his was inside the house. When he was almost close enough for them to feel his breath on their necks— he screamed and made them jump.

In a flash, Kek leapt over the back of the sofa and slammed Atem to the ground. Atem tried to shout, but Kek was crushing his chest with his body weight. His face twisted in a feral snarl, but recognition replaced the rage in his eyes. Kek sucked in a shallow breath and jumped off of Atem's chest.

“Atem? Oh shit!”

"S-sorry." Atem stuttered as Kek helped him to his feet.

"You startled me." Kek’s eyes flashed, remorseful.

Atem flushed, angry at himself. He knew better. With Kek, Malik, and Bakura, sudden surprise movements were a bad idea. Kek had explained to them all how he blanked out and attacked on reflex, but when Atem saw them cuddling so peacefully together, he'd completely forgotten how dangerous Malik's former other half was.

Kek muttered something and dashed up the stairs.

"Kek!" Yugi ran after him, shouting. "He knows you didn't mean it!"

Atem stepped around the couch to follow them, but Ryou held his arm and led him to the sofa instead.

"Yugi will bring Kek back. He needs a moment to cool down." Ryou rested his hand on Atem's sternum, gently rubbing the area. "Are you okay?"

"It's my fault." Atem sighed.

"That's not what I asked." Ryou tugged Atem's shirt off in a swift, fluid motion before Atem could so much as squeak in protest.

"Ryou?"

"I'm checking for bruising." Ryou smoothed his fingers over Atem's chest.

Atem's face caught fire. Ryou's touch was too delicate and sweet. It sent shivers coursing through his nerves, and he had to hold his breath to keep himself from moaning.

"It looks okay, but I should rub some tiger balm on it just to be safe. Stay put."

Ryou disappeared and returned with a tin of ointment. Without his shirt, the cartouche Atem always wore flashed beanth the ceiling lights. Ryou was very deliberate as he moved Atem's name behind his shoulder so it wouldn't get smeared with the balm. After brushing a stray lock off Atem's chest, Ryou rubbed the herbal smelling gel on the tender areas of Atem's body. The balm tingled, but soothed the soreness from getting tackled.

"It was pretty funny, how you frightened us." Ryou said as he massaged Atem's chest. "Except the part where you startled Kek, of course, but I understand what you were trying to do."

"Okay we're back." Yugi and Kek appeared holding hands. "Atem, are you okay?"

"I'm great," Atem said in a high pitched voice.

"You look pretty great." Yugi laughed, but a blush spread across his. "Um, I mean, Ryou's a good nurse, right?"

Atem nodded. He didn't trust his voice with Ryou's hands still kneading his body and Yugi staring at him.

"I'm sorry." Kek exhaled, frustrated.

"Don't be." Atem shook his head. "It was my fault."

"You timed it perfectly. I jumped out of my skin." Yugi giggled.

"I know you're here to help us plan Malik's _welcome home_ party, but would it be okay if we finished the movie first?" Ryou leaned a little closer as he asked the question, batting his eyelashes and giving Atem a coy smile.

"N-no problem." Atem really couldn't deal with Ryou smiling at him while touching him. His heart was going to give out. "Um, maybe I should put my shirt—"

"Best you leave it off," Ryou said without hesitation. "Allow the balm to fully absorb into your skin."

Atem wasn't sure that was how medicine worked but didn't know enough to argue. He did notice, however, Ryou flashing Kek a knowing look before Kek grinned and shoved Yugi on the sofa bedside Atem. Atem shot them half a glare, suspecting their schemes, but his expression shifted into a smile, so Yugi didn’t think he was hurt or upset.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Yugi whispered.

“I am. I promise.” Atem nodded.

"You know, Ryou's right. I want to finish the movie." Kek sat on Yugi's other side.

Ryou lingered another second before slipping out of Atem’s lap. All four of them pressed together with no room for personal space. Atem glanced at each end. They could have spread out more, had they wanted. Perhaps Atem wasn't good with relationships, but he was good at games and could spot a set up when he saw one. Yugi's face was bright red, but he didn’t call his lovers out on their sneakiness. Instead, his gaze kept flicking toward Atem's bare chest. It made Atem blush.

Set-up or not, he liked the attention and the way all their bodies pushed together. But Atem didn't know the rules to this game of Ryou and Kek’s, so he sat still with his hands on his knees and kept to himself. Ryou held none of Atem’s reservation. Surely, he must have planned this with Kek ahead of time because he waited until the movie was stuck in a boring exposition segment to yawn and rest his head on Atem's shoulder, only to jerk upright as if he’d done so on accident.

"Oh, forgive me." Ryou patted Atem’s shoulder. "I didn't mean to be rude. I'm used to resting my head on Yugi's shoulder whenever we watch movies, so I forgot myself."

"I didn't mind," Atem said, his heart pumping hard.

"Okay then." Ryou smiled and leaned against Atem again.

The urge to bolt screamed inside of Atem, same as it had at the club with Bakura, but after their last club night, Atem swore to himself that he was going to stop running away. This was his chance to keep his own promise. So, with trembling hands, he reached out and laced his fingers with Yugi's.

None of his Shadow Games could ever compare to the utter terror he felt with his hand tangled with his partner’s. Not even his final battle with Zorc had been this harrowing, but Yugi's breath hitched, and he gave Atem's hand a squeeze. Atem hoped his fingers were sweating too much as he let his breath out in a slow, controlled exhale. Yugi leaned on Atem’s other shoulder, and Atem damn-near bolted, but managed to keep himself sitting, weighted down with Yugi and Ryou’s gentle pressure.

Atem focused on breathing. This wasn't _much_ different than how they'd spent a hundred afternoons, he and Yugi were cuddly friends and had no problem curling on the sofa together, but this time it _meant_ something different. Atem could almost taste the tension because of how thickly it clung to the air. He wondered what would happen if he turned and stole a kiss from Yugi. He glanced at Yugi and Yugi returned the look, his gaze soft and endearing. They both leaned a little closer, mouths drawing near enough to feel each other's breath.

They jumped when several screams blared from the TV's speakers at the last instant of the movie. Ryou and Kek burst into laughter.

"Jump scares are cheap." Atem snorted as the credits rolled.

"Sometimes." Ryou stood and stretched. "But overall, it was a pretty good film. Kek, help me make lunch so we can eat while we party plan."

"Is your chest okay?" Kek leaned over Atem and touched his sternum.

"I forgot all about it during the movie." Atem squirmed in his seat. He wasn’t used to so many people touching him and he was going out of his mind wanting even more.

"Good." Kek dragged his fingers away.

Atem bit the inside of his cheek to suppress the moan Kek's touch induced.

"We'll bring everything out when lunch is ready. You two keep each other company until then." Ryou grabbed Kek's hand and led him to the kitchen.


	16. Yugi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was just like all this little flashes to speed things along, and then a section that went together but was split between Atem/Yugi's pov, so like...enjoy the five updates lol. Happy Valentines Day or whatever.

For a second, Yugi thought Atem was finally going to kiss him, but then the stupid movie interrupted them. After Ryou and Kek left, Yugi sat on the couch, staring at the blank screen. The silence between them was stifling, but neither one of them could make the first move. 

“You should watch movies with us more often,” Yugi said, trying to at least break the silence if not the tension. 

“I don’t want to butt in.” Atem picked at the edge of the blanket over their laps. 

“Funny, that’s what Kek said.” Yugi shook his head. “Are Ryou and I so unapproachable?” 

“No, but it’s basic manners not to interrupt people’s dates.” Atem shrugged his bare shoulders.

“You’re sure you’re all right? Kek was worried.” Yugi pressed his hand over Atem’s heart. The cartouche had shifted back in place, and the metal surface felt cool compared to Atem's warm body.

“I’m not hurt at all. I’m 3,000 years old, but I'm not frail.” Atem grinned. 

“Of course not.” Yugi chuckled. 

He motioned to withdraw his hand, but Atem layered his fingers over Yugi’s knuckles. Yugi’s gaze floated up to meet Atem’s. Heat flashed through Yugi’s face. This was usually the part where Atem excused himself to go to the bathroom, or make tea, or turn the TV channel, anything to keep Yugi from kissing him. 

This time, Atem only licked his lips. His heartbeat thudded below Yugi’s fingertips, a little faster than before. Yugi measured his breaths in calm three-counts. Before he had time to doubt himself—or worry about ruining their friendship—Yugi pressed their lips together. The moment they connected, Atem flung his arms around Yugi’s neck and locked their bodies in a tight embrace. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue between Yugi’s lips. It was as if he’d been waiting for a signal for the past seven years, and somehow _this moment was it._ He went for each new kiss with the same ease he used playing card games. Yugi released a deep, excited moan. His fingers danced over Atem's bare skin. When they broke apart, their chests heaved for air. 

“Please don’t run away.” Yugi closed his eyes, afraid Atem would flee after realizing what they’d done. 

“I’m sorry, aibou.” Atem pressed their foreheads together. 

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Yugi wove his fingers with Atem’s. 

“I think…I was punishing myself, by not allowing myself to get close to anyone.” 

“Atem.” Yugi held Atem’s face. “Why?” 

“I tried telling you, I was _responsible_ for everyone in my kingdom. _Everyone_.” 

“It’s _impossible_ for one person to—”

Atem pressed two fingers to Yugi’s lips. “You’re not listening. Any time I’ve ever talked about this, you always _comfort_ me instead of giving me a chance to say anything, but I need you to let me _think_ about it. I can't work through it otherwise.” 

Yugi lowered Atem’s hand from his mouth. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have listened to you. I just didn’t want you to be sad.” 

“I know.” Atem kissed Yugi’s nose. 

Yugi giggled and rubbed the spot still tingling from Atem’s lips. 

“And you’re right.” Atem sank back into the sofa. “It isn’t possible for me to personally take care of every individual in a kingdom, but that didn’t make me feel any less responsible once I’d crossed over and gotten a better perspective of how many people suffered in my kingdom.” 

“Silence Of The Lambs.” Kek walked into the living room carrying a tray of sandwiches. “Have you watched it?” 

“No.” Atem shook his head. 

“There’s a cop trying to catch a serial killer, and at one point she retells a story of her childhood where she tried to rescue all the farm lambs before they could be killed, and when her plan didn’t work, she grabbed a single lamb and ran away.” Kek set the sandwiches on the coffee table in front of them and sat on Atem’s other side. “That’s what you did, isn’t it? You grabbed me and Bakura and ran away from the afterlife. You couldn’t fix anything else from 3,000 years ago, so you needed to at least save _us_.” 

“How did you know it was me?” Atem sniffed, wiping at his cheek. “Did Bakura tell you I was the one who brought us all back?” 

“Does Bakura even know? I think he’s too stupid to figure it out, but I’ve known all along.” Kek ran his hand out to the side of Atem, as if stroking something. “You have the gods’ _heka_ , even now.” 

Atem closed his eyes and gasped, arching beneath Kek’s touch despite Kek not actually touching him. Kek jerked his hand away, his expression bashful. 

“Sorry, probably shouldn’t have.” Kek folded his hands into his lap. 

“What did you do?” Atem blinked his eyes open, confused. 

“I touched your wings.”

“My wings?” A disbelieving smile pulled at Atem’s lips. “I don’t have wings.” 

“Yes you do. Falcon wings. They’re made of light.” Kek frowned. “Am I really the only one who can see them?” 

“How long have you seen them?” Yugi asked.

“Since the Shadow Realm when Atem found me.”

“Okay, I have tea to go with our lunch and—” Ryou stopped and tilted his head. “Why does everyone look so serious?” 

“Can you see _heka_?” Atem asked. 

“Sometimes.” Ryou set the second tray beside the first and claimed Kek’s lap instead of the final opened cushion. 

“Does Atem have wings?” Yugi asked, accepting a cup of tea when Ryou offered it. 

“Oh.” Ryou stared at Atem from different angles. “Sometimes light flashes out of the corner of my eyes, but I never could make out what it was, but wings would make sense because of the shape.” 

“That’s really cool.” Yugi hovered his hand over Atem’s shoulder, trying to sense whatever it was Kek saw, but all he could feel was Atem’s body heat.

“Weren’t we supposed to be planning Malik’s party?” Ryou grabbed a sandwich in one hand and his tea in the other. 

“Um, yeah. Atem, what games do you think we should play?” Yugi continued to smooth his hands just over Atem’s body. 

“Something fun to play while drinking,” Kek added. 

“Jenga,” Atem said. “I’m sure we’ll get into some fights over that.” 

"What about Twister?" Ryou asked. 

"Yeah. That should be fun to play tipsy." Yugi grinned. 

"Smash Bros," Kek suggested.

"Should I bring anything?" Atem asked.

"Sleeping bag and a change of clothes," Yugi said. "And if you want anything specific to drink. Ryou's making jello shots."

"And enough snacks to feed a small army, so don't eat before the party."

"I think we pretty much have everything covered already. I thought this would take longer," Yugi said. 

"How are you getting Bakura there without him getting suspicious?" Atem asked.

"Actually, we were hoping _you_ would fetch him for us." Ryou smiled. 

"Me?" 

"The rest of us will be busy setting up." Ryou shrugged.

"I guess I can think of something." Atem pressed his lips together.

"We know it won't be easy. Bakura's not the most social person, but we have confidence in you." Ryou jumped up and wandered to the DVD rack. "Since we’ve hashed out all the details of the party. Let's watch another movie."

“Did you just lure me here to watch movies?” Atem asked outright. 

“And to plan a party,” Ryou insisted. 

"Let’s watch Silence Of The Lambs." Kek cackled.

"Oh, I love that one. Thanks for suggesting it." Ryou beamed. 

“Well…” Atem mulled it over. 

Yugi held his breath, nervous that Atem would leave, but he grabbed a sandwich, settled closer to Yugi, and snuggled with him beneath the blanket. 

“Fine, I’ll join your movie date.”

“We’re glad to have you.” Ryou returned to his place on Kek’s lap. Kek circled his arms around Yugi. 

Yugi exhaled in relief, enjoying the warmth of everyone pressed together. Atem never did put his shirt back on, so Yugi took advantage of it and rested his head on Atem's naked chest.


	17. Malik

Malik spotted Kek among the rest of the airport crowds, his hair rising up like a beacon. 

"Hey." Malik greeted him as they exchanged kisses on their cheeks. "Your hair looks good in a ponytail." 

"Heh, it pisses me off when it gets in my face. Do we need to get your bags?" 

"This is it for now." Malik lifted then lowered his carry on. "Rishid's bringing the rest by boat. He'll be here in three days." 

"I... haven't seen him since…" Kek kicked at the linoleum.

"It's okay." Malik squeezed Kek’s bicep. "You don't have to meet him if you don't want to, but it might not be bad if you both talked. He and I have discussed a lot of things over the years."

"Yeah." Kek grabbed Malik's duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll worry about it in three days. C'mon, Ryou's cooking dinner." 

"Gods, I can't wait. Ryou's the only person who can out-cook Rishid so whatever he's making will taste amazing." 

They maneuvered out of the airport. Kek stored Malik's bag before they both strapped on helmets and climbed onto his bike. They reached Yugi's house in less than 15 minutes. As soon as Malik stepped inside the fragrance of fried onions and garlic hit his nose.

"Oh damn." Malik closed his eyes, inhaling. "Is that what I think it is?" 

"Of course he made your favorite." Kek grinned.

"Fuck. My mouth's watering already.” 

"You're here!" Yugi called from the stairs, rushing to give Malik a hug and Kek a quick kiss. 

"Flight landed early, and Kek drives like I do." Malik nudged Kek with his elbow. 

"I know." Yugi laughed. "He beat me at go-carts a few weeks ago." 

"Careful, you'll lose your title as King of Games." Malik winked.

"I'll put your bag upstairs." Kek leaned forward as if to kiss Malik the same way he'd kissed Yugi, but he froze, flushed, muttered an apology, and ran out of sight.

Malik didn't have a chance to say it was all right. He watched Kek climb the stairs, surprised at the disappointment tugging his chest. They’d never kissed before, but the instant Kek leaned close, Malik’s chest had felt bright. 

"Ryou's making kushari," Yugi said to break the awkwardness. "We should set the table."

"Okay." Malik followed him into the kitchen. 

"Just in time! It's ready." Ryou set a kettle on the burner for tea. 

"It smells so good. I'm dying to taste it." Malik gave Ryou a quick hug before sitting. 

“Please eat a lot. I made sure to make enough.” Ryou gave a slight bow before setting a plate in front of Malik. 

Malik ate two huge helpings. The four of them sat around the table, chatting about duelist gossip. After dinner, Ryou brought out a cardamom cake drenched in sugar syrup, and then they crammed together on the sofa to play Mario Kart. The others explained their party plans to Malik between races, and he couldn't stop grinning as he imagined the look on Bakura's face when he realized Malik had moved to Domino and bought a house. Despite the excitement coursing through him, Malik’s eyes were heavy, the time zone difference throwing him off his routine. 

Malik stretched, groaning as he yawned.

"Jet lag?" Ryou asked.

"Yeah. It's still early in Egypt, but my sense of time gets wrecked when I travel." 

"You should go to sleep." Yugi patted Malik's leg.

"You're right. I have to get up early to sign paperwork and get the keys. I'll see you guys in the morning." 

They piled him in a group hug. Malik laughed. He’d miss this pile of morons. He hated to admit, but they really had become friends over the years. Each time he visited Bakura, tournaments across the world, the quick snatches of interaction had built up between all of them, but pulled away so he could unpack before going to sleep. 

“Goodnight.” He yawned again, covering it with his palm, and walked upstairs. 


	18. Kek

"Go talk to him." Ryou nudged Kek's leg.

"I'm afraid if I talk to him I'll kiss him." Kek hugged himself, digging his nails into the sides of his arms. 

"I fail to see the problem." Yugi elbowed Kek's side teasingly.

"What if...he didn't think about us like that? What if he only cares about Bakura?"

"It's better to know." Ryou's pats changed to a reassuring squeeze.

"You're right. Okay, I’ll go talk to him." Kek jumped to his feet. He stared at Ryou and Yugi. " _Heh_ , I haven't spent a night apart from both of you at once since we all started sharing a room…I'm going to miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too." Yugi stretched onto his toes and kissed Kek goodnight. 

"In the morning I'll make pancakes for everyone." Ryou mimicked Yugi's kiss. 

"Sounds great." Kek wrapped his arms around Ryou, crushing their bodies together. After a final kiss, he gave Yugi the same treatment before bolting up the stairs.

Kek swallowed, palms sweating. He stood in front of his old bedroom door where he’d stashed Malik’s bag. Collecting his thoughts before raising his hand, Kek knocked then waited. Malik opened the door a few seconds later, his expression softened when he saw who it was.

"Hi, Kek."

"Am I bothering you? Were you sleeping?" 

Malik smirked and stepped aside and let Kek into the room. Kek sat at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms over his chest to keep from fidgeting.

"Bakura uses that same body language whenever he needs to talk but doesn't _want_ to talk." Malik sat next to Kek. "Honestly, I'm glad you're here. It's been lonely in Luxor, and now I'm so close to having what I want and it's harder than ever to spend this last night in an empty bed." 

"I'm really glad _you're_ here." Kek slid his arms around Malik.

"It's good to be here." Malik stroked Kek's hair. 

They sat for a long moment without anything changing. Then, Malik pressed a light kiss into the side of Kek's head. Malik's lips trailed toward Kek's temple, and down his face until their lips brushed together. Kek's eyes fluttered shut. He pulled back, licking his lips, pretending he could taste Malik still lingering on his mouth.

"Do other halves count?" He whispered. He couldn't go on unless he knew.

"As people?" Malik sounded concerned. "Of course they do. Who told you they didn't?" 

"I mean us." Kek grinned at Malik's protective tone. He opened his eyes. "I know you love Bakura the same way I love Ryou and Yugi, but where do we stand? Do you…" he couldn't ask if Malik loved him, perhaps he wasn't ready to hear the answer regardless of what it was, so he changed directions. "Are we FWBs like Ryou and Bakura? Or is it just masturbation because we used to be the same thoughts? I always dismissed thinking about it and told myself other halves didn't truly count, but now I'm dating and you're going to live here so...it's too important not to know. Even if your answer hurts." 

"Kek." Malik teased the collar of Kek's shirt. "I don't know exactly what to call us. Bakura and I were never good at describing our relationship, but you've become really important to me over the years."

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” Malik smiled, leaning closer. 

The answer was a satisfactory one. They kissed a second time, deeper than before. Malik tugged at Kek's hair and sucked at his lips. Kek pressed against Malik's chest out of instinct, wanting to push him to the mattress, but he remembered Malik's back hurt. Instead, Kek pulled Malik on top of him, laying himself long against his old blanket. Kek's back did not hurt. His scars were seared into him with heka, each line blowing and bright like golden lava. They burned like hell, especially when he became emotional, but laying on them didn't bother him.

He wrapped his legs around Malik's hips and clutched at Malik's shoulders. Malik walcomed Kek’s hold by pressing harder against him and kissing him with greater ferocity. It was like racing. They both drove fast and reckless at each other. Malik's hands rushed over the curve of Kek's sides and he nudged their erections. Kek nodded, silently asking for more. They clawed at each other's pants, freeing their cocks. Malik fisted Kek's shaft, stroking the second he touched the burning skin. 

" _Nnngh—! Fuck!"_ Kek swore, trying not to scream. 

Malik grinned, pupils blown out from arousal. Shivers devoured Kek's spine. The closeness was a bit like when they were mentally connected _but better_ because they didn't have to fight for control of one body. Kek groped for Malik's hard dick. He'd watched Malik touch himself enough to know what Malik liked, and did his best to mimic the speed and grip. They growled at each other as they climbed together. The sound echoed in Kek’s ears and spread heat throughout his body. The nails from Malik's free hand dug into Kek's shoulder. His _heka_ constantly shifted—regal gold one moment, a seductive lavender the next. It always fascinated Kek, how fluid Malik’s magic was, not so much a thumbprint as a breath on the back of your neck in a dark hallway. Malik bit Kek's throat and the magic surrounding them was an intense, molten copper, but all the while soothing ribbons of indigo curled around Kek's body.

"Malik, I'm coming," Kek whispered. He hid his face in the crook of Malik's neck. 

The pleasure lingered in Kek's body long after the spasms stopped. Malik bucked into Kek’s clenched fist as he recovered. As soon as his thoughts returned and he could move, Kek refocused on stroking Malik. Biting roughly, Malik arched and bucked. He clawed at Kek's skin, leaving slight momentos trailing through the gold markings on Kek's back. Malik used a final bite to muffle a scream as he came. Kek rode out the moment with him, kissing up and down the side of Malik’s neck as they collapsed against the mattress. 

They twisted together like motorcycle wreckage. Malik combed his fingers through Kek's fringe.

"Would it be okay if, maybe when Bakura and Ryou hang out, that _we_ spend time together?" Kek asked.

"You don't have to plan it so neatly. If you want to spend time with me, just ask." Malik kissed Kek's temple.

"Good." Kek buried his face against Malik's chest. 

"Thanks for keeping me company tonight," Malik said.

“I wanted to.” Kek nodded, knowing they had to clean up before they fell asleep, but too content to move just then.


	19. Atem

Atem wiped the sweat off his hands before knocking on Bakura's door. He was more nervous than he should be. First date nervous. They weren't even going to the club—though that's what he’d told Bakura—they were going to Malik’s house warming party. The door swung inward, and Atem took a step backwards.

"Hello, Pharaoh. Why don't you...come... inside?" Bakura stood in the doorway wearing only a towel. Atem's jaw dropped. The idiot had the worst fucking timing.

"It's going to take more than your hot, naked body and innuendos to seduce me." Atem winked, hoping he was hiding his desire enough to discourage Bakura and get him “to the club”.

"But I can't _bare_ it any longer." Bakura dropped the towel, and Atem damn near fainted.

He sucked in a quick breath and tried to keep his eyes on the floor. The others owed him one for making _him_ fetch Bakura before the party. This was absolutely not fair. People said the gods spoiled him too much, but tonight was the reckoning where Atem settled his tab. His urge to give in to Bakura's scheme and be fashionably late was only outweighed by his eagerness to see the look of joy on Bakura's face when he saw Malik.

But Atem couldn't let Bakura know the real reason they were going out, so he stepped close, wrapped his left arm around Bakura's waist, and teased Bakura's pierced nipple.

"Un-bare-able as it is to resist you, I _really_ want to go dancing. So slip into something uncomfortable and I _promise_ you're going to have a good time tonight."

"None of the dodgy bullshit you pulled last time?" Bakura asked, his lips pursed in a thin line.

"I promise." Atem closed his eyes, lifted onto his toes, and gave Bakura a long, lingering, French kiss.

Bakura's cock twitched. Atem was screaming at himself. The Thief King may have worn a red cape, but he was giving the Pharaoh blue balls.

"Fine." Bakura sighed as he turned and marched to his room. Atem followed him.

Atem smoothed his hand over the fitted sheet covering Bakura's unmade bed. Memories of the other night drifted into Atem's thoughts.

"Any requests?" Bakura held out a few shirts for Atem to admire.

"Hmm…" Atem rummaged through Bakura's wardrobe. He pulled out a hanger holding a black tube-top and matching, zip-up, sleeveless boxing hoodie.

"Oh." Bakura smiled as he took the garments. He buried his face in the cloth and inhaled before finishing his sentence. "This is actually Malik's. He left it last time he was over. I've been waiting to give it back to him."

"He knows you're a thief. I'm sure he wouldn't complain if you stole it for a night."

"Yes he would. He complains about everything, but it smells like him. I guess I could wear it for luck." Bakura slipped into the top, only half zipping it so his chest showed. To finish out the outfit, Bakura wrapped his shenti around his waist.

"You still have that?" Atem smirked, wondering if he had the robe as well.

"I know you still have the linen you were wearing when you came back."

"Perhaps." He did.

"There are no shoes for this outfit." Bakura pulled no less than two dozen pairs of shoes from his closet. "Guess these will have to work."

Bakura strapped on a pair of thigh-high gladiator heels.

"None of that matches. Wear pants," Atem suggested.

"Oh no." Bakura grinned as he teased his silver hair. "I'm going easy access tonight."

Atem bit his lower lip, daydreaming about slamming Bakura against the bed and bunching the fabric to his waist. Atem would have kissed Bakura's body until Bakura growled and cursed for him to get on with it.

"I'm ready." Bakura slung his arms around Atem, leaning close.

Too close. His mouth hovered a fraction of a centimeter away from Atem's lips. Atem wished they _were_ going to the club. Bakura was in a touchy mood and Atem had been craving touch ever since his movie marathon with the others. His lips parted to tell Bakura _let's go_ , but instead of speaking, Atem whimpered, tilted his head, and sealed his lips over Bakura's.

He wished they were going to the club, but they were going to a party. Malik would be there and Bakura would forget Atem even existed. He was happy for Bakura, but sad that he was losing his clubbing partner. He was kissing Bakura goodbye.

"You know." Bakura held Atem's waist. "We don't _have_ to go to the club. I can play music on my phone and we can dance here."

Bakura swayed their bodies together in rhythm to an imaginary tune. Atem laughed when Bakura dipped him. He held the back of Bakura's head and placed a last, gentle kiss on Bakura's mouth.

"No. I want to go out." Atem broke their embrace.

"If you insist." Bakura rolled his eyes, checked himself in the mirror, and led them outside.

The first three blocks were easy enough. Bakura explained a taco challenge he saw on the internet.

"Okay, but those pussies only used a few habaneros and like, three drops of ghost pepper hot sauce. I know we could do better than that!"

"We." Atem turned his head. "Don't drag me into this."

"Come on! This is going to be great. We can dump like seven different kinds of hot sauce in our meat and scarf down an entire plate in record time."

" _Why would we want to_?"

"To win!" Bakura spread his arms into the air.

"Win what? The internet?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I suppose we can. Will Ryou help us cook?" Atem asked.

"Of course he will. Like Ryou even trusts me in a kitchen without him—hey, where are you going? The club's this way." Bakura stopped and pointed down the street when Atem turned.

"Oh. I…need to pick up a card real quick from a friend, and then we can go to the club."

"Fuck that. I want to drink, and dance, and run my hands all over you. Get your stupid card later."

"It's super rare, and if I don't pick it up tonight he's going to give it to someone else." Atem batted his eyelashes—as if that'd work on Bakura.

"Not my problem." Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, immune to Atem's _pretty please_ stare.

"Then your spicy tacos aren't my problem." Atem mimicked Bakura's body language.

"Fine. Fine. Just make this quick." Bakura dropped his arms and followed Atem.

Atem exhaled, relieved his excuses worked. He found the right address and let himself in with the spare key Malik gave him earlier.

"Who the fuck lives here anyway?" Bakura gave every piece of furniture a suspicious glare.

Before Atem could think of an answer, Malik crept behind Bakura. Even with his back turned away, Bakura's eyes widened—first in panic, but then his expression softened.

"Malik? His voice cracked. Bakura whipped around and flung himself into Malik's arms without so much as pausing to make sure. "No fucking way! How did you get here?"

"The usual way. An airplane." Malik locked Bakura into a tight embrace, kissing his temple. 

"I can't believe you're here...fuck." Bakura kissed up and down Malik's face, laughing until he was flushed and then laughing some more. "My heart damn near stopped the second you stood behind me."

"How did you know it was me?" Malik grinned, crushing Bakura to his chest, touching his face, running his fingers through Bakura's hair, and smoothing his palms up and down Bakura's arms.

"Your cologne." Bakura nuzzled against Malik's neck. "No one else in the world smells as good as you."

"We were trying to surprise you." Malik laughed.

"I'm pretty fucking surprised." Bakura's breath with thin, he was too worked up. "I don't understand. Why are you in some random house?"

"It's our house." Malik grinned, glowing as he spoke.

"Ours?" Bakura asked, eyes wide. "Like...ours? To...to live in?"

"Yes! Ours!" Malik laced his fingers with Bakura's. "Ours. From now on when I go home, it's going to be here, to you."

"Gods, are you serious?" Bakura stepped back, expecting a trap.

"Come on. I'll show you around." Malik tugged Bakura down the nearest hallway.

Bakura gave Atem a confused stare. Atem shooed Bakura away. He watched them leave, sighing but smiling for them as well. He was almost lightheaded in his happiness, but his legs trembled slightly because his loneliness was cutting his heart from his chest and he couldn't stand how it hurt. He found the other three in the kitchen. They scurried about preparing snacks. Each of them were dressed in their favorite clothes, and Kek had his hair unbound for once. After the party, Malik and Bakura would settle into their new house, while Kek, Yugi, and Ryou went to their home as well. Atem was the only one going to an apartment by himself.

"Oh hey." Yugi smashed Atem in a hug the moment he stepped into the room. Atem closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, wondering if he'd recognize the rich leather scent of Yugi's cologne before he even saw him the same way Bakura had with Malik. 

"How precious was he?" Ryou asked Atem.

"He knew it was Malik before he even turned around." A tender smile spread across Atem's lips. "I think he's still in shock. He looked confused more than anything."

"Watch, when he sees us he'll avoid eye contact and his eyes will be red, but he'll pretend like he hasn't been crying." Ryou arranged several tea sandwiches on a platter before passing them over. "Would you please set these in the living room?"

"Okay." Yugi kissed Ryou's forehead and wandered out of the kitchen.

"Hummus?" Kek tipped a platter with chips and hummus in Atem's direction.

"Thanks." Atem shoved a chip into his mouth.

"When you two are done snacking, bring those into the living room as well." Ryou grabbed a platter of cookies and headed out.

"It's going to be okay, you know," Kek said when they were alone.

"What do you mean?" Atem asked, unsure of what Kek was referring to.

"I can tell you're sad, but Bakura's not going to forget about you, so don't worry."

"How did you know? What I was thinking?"

"Your wings are drooping." Kek dragged his fingers through the air bedside Atem.

An intense, overwhelming sensation raked through Atem's body. Same as the other day when Kek spoke about Atem's wings. It was as if Kek were caressing his soul directly. Atem gasped and clung to Kek, riding out the waves of sensation.

"You're so good with games and so dumb with men. Just tell Yugi you want to be with him. It will make him happy." Kek snuck a quick kiss to the corner of Atem's mouth and carried the chips into the living room.

"I'm trying." Atem called after him. He sighed and followed Kek. It wasn’t fair that he had to deal with all of this at once.

Everyone sat around the coffee table. Bakura scrubbed at his eyes. He didn't have his shirt on and Atem suspected Malik had wanted it back immediately once he saw it. Atem appreciated the site of Bakura sitting casually in nothing but his shenti. Meanwhile, Malik set up the Jenga tower. Kek pulled a cookie out of Ryou's hand and replaced it with a sandwich. Yugi sat on one of the overstuffed chairs near the sofa. Atem steeled his nerves, marched to the chair, climbed behind Yugi, and settled down so his arms and legs twinned around Yugi's body. Yugi uttered a surprised sound before leaning backward and sinking into Atem's embrace.

"Ryou made falafel," Yugi said, failing to mention Atem’s seating choice.

"Thanks. I'll get some in a second." Atem rested his forehead against the nape of Yugi's neck, trying to get his shaking hands to stop.


	20. Bakura

As Malik showed him around the house, Bakura grabbed his inhaler out of the hoodie pocket and sucked in a few puffs of the medicine. Seeing Malik almost a month early was too much for his lungs (and heart) to take. Malik shoved keys into Bakura's hand and showed him around a strange house he kept insisting was theirs. 

"What about your siblings?" 

"They'll visit me for a change." 

"So, you're really…here? To stay?" Bakura stuffed the keys and inhaler back into his pocket, but he was still struggling to breathe.

"I've been planning this for weeks." Malik coiled his arms around Bakura. "I'm surprised no one blabbed." 

"They're assholes. They wouldn’t tell me a damn thing." Bakura laughed, but it broke into a sob. 

He curled against Malik and hid in Malik’s embrace. Malik stroked his hair, but didn't _shhh_ Bakura or verbally try to calm him, and Bakura was grateful because his tears were nothing more than relief. Relief pouring from Bakura's soul and down his cheeks. He and Malik had spent years making do with visits, and the thought of not having to say goodbye again was too good for Bakura to endure without some sort of expression.

"Bakura, if you keep this up, _I'm_ going to cry with you, and I'm going to be mad if I mess up my Kohl." 

"Fuck." Bakura pulled away, remembering his makeup. 

He checked his face in the mirror. The benefit of modern eyeliner over Kohl was the eyeliner was waterproof. Add a little setting spray and Bakura was no worse for wear after a few dabs of toilet paper to his face.

"Isn't this mine?" Malik tugged at Bakura's top.

"When you want it back, take it." 

“If you insist.” Malik stripped Bakura of the hoodie and tube top on the spot and pinched one of the hoops poking from his nipples. 

“You literally did that just to stare at me topless, didn’t you?” Bakura smirked. 

"Perhaps,” Malik hummed. “It’s been awhile, and I enjoy leering at you. I intend on giving you a special tour of the bedroom later, but for now we should find the others." 

Bakura grabbed Malik and kissed him. Kissed him and kissed him and kissed him until his mouth hurt. He cupped Malik's face, holding on as if Malik might disappear. 

"I'm real. This is real, and I'm not going anywhere," Malik whispered. “So stop looking at me like you think you’re dreaming.” 

“I never had dreams this good.” Bakura snorted, fishing his inhaler from the hoodie in case he needed it later. Malik poked Bakura’s ribs.

"And take those shoes off. You're tracking dirt onto our carpet." 

"You're the one to drag me through the house before I had a chance to think let alone look for house slippers." Bakura tossed his hands into the air. 

Malik grinned, shrugging before going downstairs. Bakura followed him, and they sat on the couch while the others set snacks on the coffee table. Ryou shoved food at Bakura, and Yugi found a chair to settle into. 

“Sooo…?” Yugi grinned. 

“Shut-up,” Bakura muttered. 

“C’mon, surely even a grump like you is happy right now.” 

“Shut-up.” 

Bakura hid his face for a moment, realized they would feed on such a bashful gesture, and instead decided to lean back and wrap an arm around Malik’s shoulder despite the blush on his face. Kek and Atem appeared a moment later, and—to everyone’s surprise—Atem knotted himself around Yugi. Yugi blushed at the contact but eased again Atem, nuzzling a touch. Malik gave Bakura a playful wink that told Bakura, no need for words, that the Pharaoh was now officially on Malik’s “interest list.” Bakura chuckled to himself. Next weekend’s club trip should be memorable. All the while, Malik set up the Jenga Tower as if he weren’t plotting. 

"Let's play this one first," Malik said. 

"Let's turn it into a drinking game." Atem peeked out from behind Yugi.

"Easy enough. Take a sip of beer before each turn. If you topple it, you have to finish your drink." Ryou passed out beers from an ice chest to each of them. "We'll save the jello shots for Twister." 

“Who goes first?” Yugi asked. 

“Well, it’s Malik’s house warming party, so he should go first,” Ryou suggested. 

Malik twisted his lips as he studied the tower. Sipping on his beer, he poked at the blocks until one slid with a light touch. Capturing the block with his fingers, Malik stacked it on top of the tower. Ryou sat clockwise from Malik, so he went next. He and Yugi seemed to have a sort of system. Atem picked up on it and knew which block to take without having to tap at them, but when it was Kek’s turn he pulled the last center block from a row with its sides missing—sending blocks crashing on top of the coffee table. Kek cackled before chugging his beer. 

“You did that on purpose.” Yugi and Ryou both frowned at him. 

“I wanted to wreck it.” Kek smacked his lips and fetched another beer. 

“The point is to build it up,” Ryou said. 

“I know how to play the game.” Kek opened the second beer. "But crashing it was more fun."

“If you don’t play right we’ll disqualify you.” Malik flashed a _sick of your shit_ glance at Kek as he rebuilt the tower. 

“Oh fine. Fine. Damn. I forgot how serious everyone here gets with their damn games.” Kek rolled his eyes. “You dweebs need to learn how to have fun once in a while.” 

“Games are fun,” Atem said. 

“Sure they are.” Bakura snorted, smacking the tower over the moment it was rebuilt. 

The ire flashing in Malik’s eyes was beautiful—pure, neon, lavender lightning flicking in a lilac storm. Bakura winked as he downed his beer. 

“Dammit, Bakura, I just reset that!” Malik slapped Bakura’s knee. 

“I swear to the gods you two are why we can’t have nice things.” Yugi pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Kek’s right. Y’all taking this way too seriously.” 

“You’re both banished from the Jenga table until the rest of us get a real game. Go.” Ryou pointed into the den. “I’m serious.” 

“Ooooo, we were bad and now we’ve been banished to the Shadow Realm.” Bakura laughed as he stole a tray of sandwiches and another beer. “Come on Kek. Atem will save us from the Shadow Realm eventually.” 

“Not this time. You’re in real trouble now,” Atem said, but the threat didn’t reach his eyes.


	21. Kek

Kek snickered and followed Bakura to the den. A flat paneled TV screen covered most of the far wall. Consoles stacked in a bookshelf below it. It was a gamer's sanctuary and Kek whistled as he examined the RPG tables in the corner loaded with some of Ryou’s dioramas already set up for a games.

“You’re a spoiled bitch, you know that?” Kek glanced over his shoulder at Bakura.

“Yeah, I know.” Bakura smiled. The expression was far too warm and too soft for his face. He offered the sandwich platter to Kek.

Kek repressed a giggle, instead grabbing one of the falafel sandwiches to nibble on. They sat next to each other on the sofa. Bakura’s skin was warm as his bicep brushed against Kek’s, but neither one of them bothered to scoot away, nor did they apologize for bumping into each other. He was more polite with Ryou and Yugi, their manners rubbing off on him over the years, but formalities didn’t matter to Bakura, so kek didn’t bother with them.

“Bet we can throw something at that stupid tower and make Malik _really_ mad.” Kek elbowed Bakura in his bare ribs, glancing at Bakura’s abs for a moment before raising his gaze to Bakura’s eyes again.

“Holy shit you’re right.” Bakura gasped in mock surprise. “Why don’t we hang ever out? You’re not so bad when you’re not blasting me with Ra. We could get into all sorts of trouble, and make Ryou’s hair go white.”

“Ha. Ha.” Kek snorted at the white hair joke. “What should we launch at them?”

“Let’s see.” Bakura rummaged in the RPG area until he found a toy bow and blunted arrows. “Ah-hah! This will do.”

“Why do you even _own_ that?” Kek gave Bakura a nonplussed look.

“Ryou and I tried LARPing once. We didn’t like it as much as table top, but we kept all the props.”

Bakura crept to the doorway. Kek stood behind him, peering over Bakura’s shoulder without getting in his way. The others focused on the Jenga blocks, their faces each lined with concentration. Aiming his bow, Bakura loosed it his arrow. The tower exploded; blocks rained from the air; everyone jumped up and screamed their names at once. It was glorious, and .

Bakura leaned back against Kek, shaking with laughter.

“Assholes!” Malik marched to them, shoving Bakura and then shoving Kek. “What the hell’s wrong with you two?”

“The blocks sound nice when they crash,” Kek answered.

“And it was hilarious.” Bakura laughed.

“I’m going to tie you both into a bag and throw you off the pier if you don’t stop it!” With a final shove, Malik stormed back to the couch.

Ryou already had the tower set up a fourth time. Yugi glanced at their direction and his gaze embedded pupai into Kek’s stomach. He glanced away, suddenly too distracted to care about the Jenga tower.

“I will tie you up if I have to,” Yugi said.

“I’d like to see you _try_ to tie a knot that could hold the King of Thieves.” Bakura stuck out his tongue, but Kek only blushed—remembering the last time Yugi had him tied up wasn’t exactly encouraging him to behave.

“With Kek, it’s the other way around, really.” Ryou nibbled on a cookie while they started a new game.

“Fine. I will _only_ tie you up if you stop knocking over our game,” Yugi corrected himself, pointing at Kek.

"Promise?" Kek licked his lips. 

"Yes." Yugi smiled. 

"I'll behave," Kek muttered.

“What the hell, Kek.” Bakura furrowed his brow. “Don’t you bitch out of this. What are you? House trained or something?”

“Is that some sort of jab at my manly pride? Because I beat you in a Shadow Game.” Kek smirked. “Besides, have you ever been tied up by Yugi? It’s worth behaving for.”

“ _Kek_! I’m ashamed of you.” Bakura pointed to the others. “You go over there right now and kick that tower to the ground! Prove you’re still the wild terror who once claimed he was going to tame the Darkness.”

“I can’t believe I said that.” Kek smacked his own forehead. “It sounds like such an innuendo.”

“More like a Freudian slip.” Bakura snickered.

Bakura wasn't entirely wrong. Perhaps Kek didn't understand much short of violence back then, but now that he was diving into relationships, he saw his interactions with Bakura in a slightly different light. 

Kek leaned a little closer, flicking one of the golden hoops piercing Bakura's nipples. “Weren’t you bragging about being the Darkness that night?”

“Oh-ho-ho! Remember that do you? But tell me, _Sheut_ , how are you going to tame me if you won’t even knock the tower down after being scolded by Yugi?”

“Simple.” Kek reached out and brushed his fingers down Bakura’s neck, enjoying the heat of his skin and the light tremble caused by the caress. “I’ve learned about finesse since then. No need to wrestle you to the ground, when pulling you into my lap would do.”

Kek walked away from Bakura—who snorted and blushed at Kek’s words—and towards the game. Instead of destroying the tower, Kek sat on the floor next to Ryou and rested his head in Ryou’s lap. He stared at Bakura from across the room with a lidded stare. Ryou’s nimble fingers carded through Kek’s coarse, spiked hair which he wore down for the party, and Kek looked at Bakura as if to say _see? It’s lovely being tamed_.

“Traitor! You’re a traitor! You started this war, remember? And now you’re abandoning me?” Bakura pressed a hand to his chest, gasping in an over dramatic fit, acting out because he couldn’t match Kek’s flirting.

“Soon as the game is over I’ll find a tiny violin and play you the world’s saddest song,” Malik muttered as he focused on which block to choose. He managed to finish another layer to the tower without toppling the blocks and slumped into the sofa cushions in relief.

“Fine. I'll play for real.” Bakura trudged to the coffee table and lay on his back with his head near the Jenga tower. Everyone shouted, expecting him to topple it, but he only reached up, snatched a piece, and set the block on the top.

“Sit up and play properly,” Malik snapped.

“Too easy. This way is more challenging. Think I can get the next piece with my toes?”

“Bakura, please.” Ryou drank his beer before and after his turn.

“I’m serious.” Bakura waited for his turn before smirking. “Watch this.”

Bakura swiveled the other way without shaking the table. He reached out with his toe poking one of the loose blocks. Once it was askew, he plucked it with his toes and crowned it on top of the others before settling on the table again.

“It’s cake.”

“And a nice view.” Yugi giggled behind his hand.

“Thanks.” Bakura crossed his legs, unbashful.

They continued to play and the tower continued to grow. Kek was content to keep his head in Ryou's lap. The urge to demolish the stacks of blocks was too strong, so Kek didn't risk pulling a block. It was Ryou who finally toppled the tower.

"Fuck." Ryou winced before acquiensing to his defeat and chugging his beer.


	22. Ryou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, spin the bottle lol   
> I used a random wheel spinner to keep all the spins random and then just wrote how the characters interacted based on what fate chose.

“Jenga is stupid! I want to play Twister.” They managed three real games before Bakura rolled off the table and lay on the carpet lamenting his boredom. “You know when I get bored, I cause trouble.” 

“Only then?” Atem asked. 

"No one cares if you're bored." Malik tossed a block at Bakura's head. 

"Bakura's right. Let's move on so we can try the jello shots." Yugi untangled himself from Atem's hold so he could stand, but he pressed a kiss onto Atem's forehead before jogging to the kitchen.

Ryou picked up the Jenga pieces and stowed the game in the den. He was sure he could draw a mathematical proof about the correlation between winning at games and sucking at flirting because Atem and Yugi were the two most awkward people Ryou knew when it came to crushes. Why did Yugi think kissing Atem on the _forehead_ was the best strategy? Ryou himself could have sped things along and kissed Atem properly. He’d considered it, but he was trying to let them go at their own pace. He glanced at Kek who shook his head, understanding Ryou’s thoughts. After all that work they did during their last movie date, one would think Yugi and Atem would show a little incentive, but it was as if they’d forgotten they’d kissed on the couch mere days before. 

A cheer went up when Yugi returned with rainbow striped jello shots. Ryou helped pass one to each person.

"Let’s take a warm up shot before we start Twister." 

"Finally. A fun game." Bakura scanned the room with a lecherous grin on his face, wagging his eyebrows.

“Yeah, hopefully you play this better than Duel Monsters.” Yugi smiled. 

“Sir, you wound me.” Bakura pressed a hand to his chest, grabbing his shot in the other as Ryou passed it to him. 

“I’m sorry, is your pride hurt? Need me to kiss it and make it better.” Yugi swirled his finger around the edge of the plastic cup to loosen the jello before tossing the entire thing into his mouth. 

“Yes, but you should know that my pride sits firmly between my legs—and the more you kiss, the more firmly it will sit.” Bakura’s grin dropped when he glanced at Malik. “Malik, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Malik set his empty cup on the table. He toyed with one of his earrings. "Someone has to spin the color wheel, correct?" 

"Yes," Ryou said, realizing the problem right away—Malik was worried about his back. "Malik, would you please? I don’t trust Bakura not to cheat somehow." 

“Hey, just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to call me out on it,” Bakura handed the cardboard wheel to Malik even as he teased Ryou. 

"Sure." Malik flashed a grateful smile at both of them. 

"There's really not enough room for more than four people on the mat, so while Malik acts as referee, I'm going to play bartender." Ryou lifted up a jello shot. "I'm going to think of a color and when the wheel hits the right one, everyone gets a jello shot. After each shot I'll choose another color." 

"When do you and Malik take shots?" Bakura narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Everytime you bitch about something." Malik downed another one of the shots to demonstrate.

"Well so much for _your_ liver." Kek snorted.

"Everyone ready?" Ryou asked.

"Yup." Yugi grinned.

"You're going down, Bakura." Atem smirked.

"I sure will. Drop your pants and I’ll go down right now." Bakura licked his lips.

"Right hand blue," Malik said intentionally before Atem responded.

Yugi and Atem stood on one side of the map while Kek and Bakura stood on the other. Everyone dashed for a circle. It was pretty easy for them to all get one without conflict since it was only the first round.

"Left foot green."

Bakura and Kek bumped their feet together on the same circle, laughing and stomping at each other’s feet. 

"Bakura reached it first," Malik said.

"You're just picking him because he's your favorite." Kek stuck out his tongue.

"I'm my own favorite. Bakura reached the circle first." Malik repeated.

"Bakura did reach it first," Ryou seconded. 

“Fine.” Kek conceded and moved his foot to the last green circle. 

"Left hand green." 

"There aren’t enough spaces," Yugi said.

"In this case we’ll allow one hand and one foot per circle," Ryou said. 

Bakura intentionally stole the circle Atem’s foot was on, forcing him to take the one next to Yugi, which meant Yugi had to reach under both of them to get Bakura’s circle. Meanwhile, Kek simply lowered his hand near his foot. 

Malik spun the plastic arrow on his board. “Left foot red.” 

“Ah, everyone gets a shot.” Ryou grabbed a jello shot and downed it as the others scrambled for spaces that wouldn’t twist them in too awkward of a position. 

“Bakura, quit stealing everything I aim for.” Atem elbowed Bakura out of the way. 

“It’s the point of the game.” 

“The point is to not fall over.” 

“But this way makes it more interesting.” 

Their bodies were already beginning to tangle with Yugi’s because of Bakura’s intentional and inconvenient hand and foot placements, but Yugi didn’t complain. Ryou brought two jello shots to the mat. He drew his finger along the rim of each and tilted the cups into Yugi’s and Kek’s mouths, so they didn’t have to move to take their drinks. On his second trip he did the same for Bakura and Atem. He finished by offering a shot to Malik. 

“Aren't you going to feed me like you did the others?” Malik smirked. 

“It’s your welcome home party, so I suppose I ought to.” Ryou loosened the jello from the sides of the cup. He sucked on his red-dyed finger, locking his gaze with Malik’s as he did so. As he leaned closer, Malik parted his lips so Ryou could tip the jello into Malik’s mouth. 

“I approve of your flirting, but this position is kind of uncomfortable.” 

“Then you shouldn’t have chosen stupid positions to begin with,” Atem snapped at him. 

“Bakura’s complaining again, take another shot.” Malik smirked. 

Ryou glanced at the others. “I’ve chosen a different color, so please continue with the game.” 

Malik flicked the spinner and called out the next color/foot. After a dozen rounds and three more shots, everyone was giggling. The general order of the feet and hand placements dissolved into chaos. They continued for two more shots before Atem crashed, bringing everyone down like a house of cards. Kek shook with laughter. 

“We’re the Jenga Tower now!” 

“Ow. Ow. Atem, my hair.” Yugi whimpered. 

“Sorry! Sorry Aibou.” Atem tried rolling off of Yugi’s hair, but only managed to straddle Kek in his attempt. 

“Hello.” Kek lidded his eyes and grinned at Atem. 

“Stop it!” Atem folded in on himself, tipsy and laughing. “You assholes always make me blush!” 

“It’s not hard.” Bakura clicked his tongue against his mouth. “Hey...hey, what’s our next game?" 

“Um…” Ryou stared around the room. “Was it video games? I can’t really remember.” 

“Let’s play something better.” Bakura turned onto his belly. 

“Let’s all lay on the ground and make Ryou feed us jello shots.” Kek licked his lips.

“Best. Game. Ever.” Atem flung himself onto the ground, one leg slung over Yugi and the other over Kek. 

"No way. No one's puking on my new carpet." Malik shook his head.

"I can hardly stand." Ryou wobbled as he gathered more cups. "One more round to finish and we switch to something other than drinking." 

"What's more fun than drinking?" Yugi used his tongue to scoop the jello from the plastic container while it was still in Ryou’s hand.

"Kissing," Bakura said. 

"Bakura, you're a genius." Yugi sat upright. "Let's play spin the bottle." 

"I haven't played since college." Ryou giggled.

"What's spin the bottle?" Malik asked.

"Dunno, but I'm going to win!" Atem smacked the floor. 

"Everyone wins." Yugi traced a circle into the air. "We all sit in a circle and lay a bottle on its side between us. One by one we spin it and whoever it points at—you kiss." 

"Whoever invented this game was _brilliant_." Bakura crawled to the coffee table and stole an empty beer bottle. "Who spins first?" 

"Wait, does everyone actually want to play?" Ryou glanced at each person, checking their expressions for hesitation.

Instead of answering, the other five rushed into a circle. They shoved at each other's shoulders while sitting with their knees bumping. Bakura set the bottle in the center of their small circle.

“I supposed that’s a yes.” Ryou sat with them. 

"I'll spin to see who goes first." Bakura leaned forward. The glass flashed as it whirled, stopping with the mouth pointing to Yugi. 

"Yay!" Yugi cheered, as if anyone else could have won. 

He sent the bottle twirling. Slowing, slowing, it aimed itself at Kek. His face beamed as Yugi clambered across the floor and into his lap. Yugi tugged Kek's hair, pushing a fierce kiss against Kek's lips.

"We're going clockwise, so Atem's next." Ryou rested his hand on Atem’s knee for a second before removing it.

"Okay." Atem's face flushed as he flicked the bottle. It only turned a few times before choosing Kek again.

"This is bullshit," Bakura grumbled.

"This game is great." Kek cackled.

Atem leaned over Ryou to reach Kek. He tugged at Kek's bottom lip for an instant before dropping to his seat. 

"I didn't realize a Pharaoh could blush so deeply." Malik cooed, and Atem hid his face.

"Don't be shy. You look cute!" Yugi encouraged him.

"Besides, we're all a little flushed from drinking," Ryou said as he took his turn.

The bottle lined up with Malik. Everyone laughed. Ryou eased into Kek's lap and inched closer to Malik, whispering.

"I think you're also blushing."

Malik gave Ryou a dismissive huff. "Are all Bakuras smart asses or—"

Ryou silenced Malik with a tantalizing French kiss which had Malik moaning before Ryou pulled away. Malik panted, staring as if he wanted to demand that Ryou continue, but he remained silent. With a demure smile, Ryou returned to his original spot between Atem and Kek. 

"That was hot," Bakura muttered, his awe sincere instead of his usual mockery.

"It...sure was." Yugi fanned himself. 

"This game is fun. My turn!" Kek declared with the standard duelist's enthusiasm. It landed on Malik a second time 

"This game is rigged!" Bakura pounded his fists against the floor in front of him.

Instead of waiting for Kek to approach him, Malik shoved Kek to the floor and kissed him first. They kept kissing until Bakura protested.

"Oh hurry up and spin already." 

"Maybe you'll get lucky this round, Bakura." Yugi laughed.

“Let’s find out.” After Malik had his fill with Kek, he claimed his turn, winning Atem as his prize. 

"Look at that." Malik's lavender gaze burned into Atem. 

"Why do I feel like prey?" Atem toyed with the chain around his neck.

"Because you are." Malik moved deliberately, like a lion stalking his meal. 

He eased closer and used the tip of his finger to lift Atem's chin. The breath caught in Atem's throat as his eyes went wide. Malik sucked Atem’s top lip. When he finished, Malik pulled away, leaving Atem breathless in his seat, and shoved the bottle against Bakura's chest.

"Your turn."

"At least I'll get to kiss someone." Bakura snorted, but his sarcasm changed to wicked delight when the spinning stopped and the bottle chose Ryou. 

"Hey Ryou?" 

"Yes?"

"Want to make a nice show of this?" 

Ryou offered a coy smile as he drew close. They tugged at each other's white hair, knowing it would excite the rest to watch. Ryou ghosted his lips along Bakura's, teasing him until Bakura squirmed. By small degrees, Ryou deepened the passes of their mouths, until a groan escaped him and he couldn't hold back any longer. Their kisses grew sloppy as they fought each other for more. Bakura clawed at the front of Ryou's shirt. The last thing Ryou wanted was to stop, but he eventually broke for air. They wiped their lips and panted.

"Well okay." Malik licked his lips.

Bakura looked proud, obviously wanting to tempt Malik the most. Ryou was also satisfied with the demonstration after examining the glassy stares of everyone in the group. All sitting in a circle together as they were, Ryou thought the group made quite the lovely nest. 

"Round two." Yugi gave the bottle a whirl. 

Malik stuck his tongue out at Bakura when he won again. Bakura rolled his eyes and gestured as if to tell Yugi he could keep Malik if he wanted to. Yugi's face went rosey as he knelt in front of Malik. Malik raised an eyebrow, daring Yugi to speed it up and make it good.

Inhaling, Yugi accepted Malik’s silent challenge, plunged forward, and wove their lips into an open mouth kiss. Malik closed his eyes. He sank into the kiss, grabbing Yugi's shoulders. Yugi moved back, but Malik tugged them closer for a second before he realized what he'd done and let go. Kek and Bakura laughed, and Malik glared at both of them. 

"I think all the...all the jello shots are kicking in." Atem hid his face in his palms. 

"You're not sick, are you?" Yugi held Atem's hands and lowered them so he could examine Atem's face.

"No." He shook his head, clearly flustered from watching the kiss instead of the alcohol.

"We can stop playing," Yugi offered.

"Give up on a game? Never." Atem grinned despite his red face.

“True, that’s not your style.” Yugi drifted closer. 

Before either of them knew, their mouths were easing together. Yugi was more gentle with Atem than Malik; he licked his way into Atem's mouth and laced their fingers together—seven years of mutual pining condensing into a singularity of sweet, sweet fulfillment. 

"That counts as Atem's turn," Bakura said.

"Shhh, don't interrupt them," Ryou snapped.

"He's right." Atem sighed. He brushed his thumb along Yugi's bottom lip. "We went out of turn, so it's a fair penalty." He leaned closer to Yugi. "But it was worth it." 

"Let him spin the damn bottle." Kek grabbed the bottle by the neck and handed it to Atem once he and Yugi separated.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead." Bakura waved off his earlier protest despite his sulking. 

"Thanks." Atem flipped the bottle, it landed and curved around in a wide C, stopping at Bakura. 

"See." Malik elbowed Bakura's ribs. "And you were going to skip his turn."

Bakura narrowed his gaze at Atem. "Bitch, you still owe me a night at the club. We didn't even get to go dancing." 

"Are you kidding? I practically delivered you into Malik's arms. Why aren't you thanking me?" 

"Because that would be highly out of character for me." Bakura snickered, nose crinkling. 

"I don't know why I put up with you." Atem crossed his arms over his chest.

Kek cupped his hands together and shouted. "Shut-up and kiss!"

"He won't. He's a coward." Bakura scoffed. He didn't notice Ryou sneaking around behind him. 

"Why don't _you_ kiss my ass." Atem flipped Bakura the bird.

"I'd suck your whole, goddamned virgin asshole if you'd man up and bend over." 

"Hey you two, there are children's board games present in the room." Kek clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"They gotta learn sometime." Yugi giggled. 

Ryou sprung, netting his fingers into Bakura's hair, tugging his head back, and locking his other arm around Bakura to hold him in place. Malik held Bakura's wrists so he couldn't struggle free.

"Kissing shuts him up," Ryou explained to Atem.

"It's the only way we've been able to tolerate him for the last seven years," Malik added.

Bakura stared at Atem from across the circle. He blew Atem a mocking kiss, and Atem growled in frustration. 

"Wait, don’t take his bait. Instead you should…" Yugi whispered something into Atem's ear.

"Really?" Atem asked.

"Oh yes, Ryou said it will make him dissolve." Yugi nodded.

"All right." Atem crept closer to Bakura. 

“Wait, what? I’m not sure I want to dissolve. Sounds painful, like a Shadow Game.” Bakura squirmed, but Ryou and Malik were not letting go. 

“Don’t worry. This won’t be anything like a Shadow Game.” Atem settled into Bakura's lap. He brushed their cheeks together and nuzzled against Bakura's neck.

"This is cheating!" Bakura yelled. "Ryou, how dare you tell Yugi my weakness—and how dare he tell Atem." 

"How dare you knock over my Jenga blocks," Ryou said.

Atem's nuzzling evolved to light kisses up and down Bakura's neck. His eyelashes tickled Bakura's skin. Bakura giggled and squirmed, breathless... aroused. Ryou joined in, teasing Bakura's earlobe while Malik kissed his wrists. 

"Holy shit," Bakura gasped. 

His eyes fluttered shut, and he arched against Ryou. All his quips vanished from his lips as he was triple teamed in a frenzy of the softest possible kisses.

"I'm feeling kinda left out. What about you, Yugi?" Kek asked. 

"You're right. Guess this is the final round. We should do our part to end the game properly." 

Yugi claimed the other side of Bakura's neck. Kek kissed Bakura's bare thighs, travelling to the hem of Bakura's shenti. Bakura writhed in pleasure, whimpering. He moaned for more, but his breathing sped too quickly. The gasps thinned into wheezes.

"Bakura." Malik raised his head the moment Bakura's breathing stuttered.

“Fine,” Bakura gasped, but he clearly wasn’t. 

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to work you up that much." Ryou broke away and found Bakura's inhaler. 

"I'm fine." Bakura sucked in two puffs. "Who said stop?" 

"You did." Malik tapped Bakura's chest. 

"C'mon. I'm fine." 

"Never in the history of you saying that have I once believed you." Malik shook his head.

"Are you really okay, Bakura?" Yugi asked with big puppy eyes.

"I could jog around the block to prove it." Bakura grinned. 

"Dogpile!" Kek tackled Bakura to the floor.

Ryou almost shouted for Kek to stop, but Bakura was laughing and he sounded all right after using his inhaler, so instead Ryou joined the pile. Everyone clustered together, laughing until their sides ached.


	23. Malik

Malik studied the ceiling. Their pile tumbled into a sprawl of limbs and torsos. Yugi played music on his phone and they took turns selecting songs and singing. After an hour they quieted, not sleeping, but not thinking of much of anything while the music played at random. Their livers slowly filtered the booze from their blood, and the more Malik sobered, the happier he became.

"This is nice. I haven't had this much fun since the last time I was in Domino." 

"I'm still having trouble getting it through my thick skull that you're staying." Bakura curled his body around Malik and hid his face against Malik's neck. He whispered a few other words, sweet words too quiet for the others to hear, and Malik's expression warmed. 

"Yeah, it is a lot of fun when you visit." Yugi rolled onto his stomach. "We should have gaming nights again. We've been lazy lately." 

"Monster World—" Ryou, Kek, and Bakura said in unison.

"I don't know…" Yugi hummed. "I heard D&D was really fun." 

"I will _leave you_." Ryou play-slapped Yugi's shoulder. 

"You know I would never betray you like that." Yugi laughed. 

"So you miss the others yet?" Kek asked, referring to Isis and Rishid.

"It feels like one of my regular trips. I don't think I'll fully comprehend that I _live_ here for at least a few months. Then I'll start to miss them." 

"Makes sense." Ryou nodded. 

A quiet snore interrupted their conversation. Bakura lay with his head in Malik’s lap, curled in a crescent like a brown and silver snake. Malik giggled and stroked Bakura's star-lit hair.

"Listen to this noodle. Already asleep." 

"He can't handle jello shots at all." Atem shook his head.

"From what I heard—you can't either," Malik teased. 

"Your sources may not be reliable," Atem said.

"Touche. Bakura isn't exactly a reliable narrator." Malik sat with Bakura’s face cupped in his hands. 

"It only takes one minute of listening to his Thief King stories to figure that out," Ryou said. 

"I think I'm going to drag him to bed." Malik struggled to maneuver Bakura's weight. 

"I'll help." Kek lifted Bakura into his arms. Bakura moaned, but didn't wake.

"Thanks." Malik stood, glancing at everyone. "Sleep wherever you want. There are two guest rooms, the den, the sofa, under the kitchen table." 

"Don't knock under the kitchen table until you get drunk enough to try it. We were comfortable and that was a hell of a party," Yugi said. 

"I'll take your word for it." Malik shrugged. “I prefer a bed. I spent a small fortune on it.” 

"What if I want to sleep in your bed with you and Bakura?" Kek asked, a smirk playing on his lips. 

Wicked. Wicked as he'd ever been, only now he was sultry rather than horrifying. Malik glanced at him, mouth opening to answer and closing again. Malik paused a moment to appreciate the coy way Kek blinked while waiting for an answer. Shrugging, Malik gestured toward the stairs. They said fortune favors the bold. Why not reward him? 

"Suit yourself." 

"But I'll be sad without Ryou and Yugi, so I'm bringing them," Kek continued. 

"You gutzy little shit." Malik snorted in laughter. "But I'm amused, so we can play this game. Everyone is officially invited to spend the night in my bed. It's big enough." 

Malik went up the stairs with Kek carrying Bakura. Ryou and Yugi glanced at each other before each grabbing one of Atem's hands and dragging him along. Atem made a surprised grunt, but didn't complain. Malik's bed was a monument of extravagance. He had it custom-made in the house complete with proper electrical work running through the posts and headboard. The width of two king sized beds, the sheets had to be custom ordered as well. The posts were carved to look like twisted tree trunks and various lights ran along the ceiling so it was never dark in the room—hence the electrician. 

He wanted the space for the luxury of it, but also because he'd anticipated the inevitableness of this very scenario. He and Bakura had been together for ages, but they'd always been close to their other halves as well. Then, with Kek and Ryou also dating Yugi, and Bakura deciding to gradually seduce Atem—the lot of them eventually ending in bed together was inevitable. He'd assumed it would take longer and involve a lot more finessing, but if Kek wanted to dive right in on night one—well, the pool was full and ready, they might as well take the plunge. 

Malik did, however, take the very edge of the bed. Still slightly tipsy, Malik's personal bubble was non-existent at the moment, but he didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night with someone unfamiliar pressed against his back. As soon as he settled, Kek sandwiched Bakura between them. Ryou crawled into the bed next, smoothing his hands over the satin sheets.

"This bed is amazing. It belongs in a fairy tale." Ryou admired some of the colored bottles hanging from the ceiling. LED lights filled each one giving the illusion of fireflies housed in the colored glass.

"Why is it so big?" Atem asked as Yugi practically pushed him next to Ryou. Atem tumbled against Ryou, blushed, muttered an apology, and moved away a few centimeters. 

"Because I wanted to sleep like a king," Malik purred instead of saying his real thoughts—how dumb was Atem to need to ask when the reason was obvious? Even Bakura chuckled when he saw it, muttering about it being big enough for six people at least. 

"I never slept in a bed _this_ nice," Atem said. 

"Next time you're king, you'll know where the bar rests," Malik tossed a challenging look at Atem, but the once pharaoh glanced away, demure and bashful. 

No wonder Bakura was struggling, Atem refused to nibble on the bait no matter how tempting it writhed while on the hook, but if Atem was too gullible to infer everyone’s intentions, then Malik supposed he’d have to go for a more direct approach. Excitement welled inside him as he thought of getting to accompany Bakura on their next club night. It would be nice to be in a club without fear of getting raided, and Atem wouldn’t be able to run to the bar for liquid distraction if Malik was physically blocking the way. 

"This is great. I don't feel squished at all." Yugi yawned and stretched as everyone settled beneath the covers. “Malik, I’m so jealous.” 

“You’re always welcomed to visit.” Malik grinned. Once he would have hid the statement behind a _Namu_ facade, but he was comfortable with himself now, and didn’t mind if others saw his true expressions. 

“Gaming nights will be at your place, then. Weekly slumber parties sound fun, don’t they?” Yugi tapped Atem’s shoulder. 

He twitched, face red. “Y-yeah.” 

"Do you have enough space, Atem?" Ryou asked.

"I'm good. Uh, did you need more room?" 

"Oh no. I'm quite comfortable, thank you." Ryou smiled. 

Unlike Atem, _Ryou_ knew the game. Malik could tell by the glitter behind Ryou's eyes as he watched Atem squirm between him and Yugi. Bakura’s sweet little other half may have had the sort of pure heart that drew unicorns out of the forest, but his mind was a well engineered Rube Goldburg Machine. 

"Okay." Atem replied with a nervous laugh. 

"Damn, the things I could do in this bed," Yugi whispered as he continued to admire the branch carvings stretching across the ceiling and glittering with lights. "The branches on the posts are perfect for hanging ropes and harnesses." 

"Don't be shy, Yugi." Malik laughed. "Just tell us all your kinks like they're a bedtime story." 

"To list all of them would be an erotic retelling of 1001 nights." Ryou giggled.

"I'm sorry." Yugi apologized. “That was pretty rude of me, wasn’t it?”

"Not at all. I don't mind," Malik said. "Teasing you, however, is fun." 

"It actually sounds like a great slumber party game," Kek said. “Like truth or dare, but it’s only truth, and it’s only truth about bedroom habits.” 

"Then let’s play. Everyone say at least one turn on or kink." Malik grinned, giddy.

"Bakura's going to be mad he missed out on this conversation." Ryou lifted his head to admire Bakura's sleeping face. “He almost doesn’t look like a complete and utter bastard when he’s sleeping.” 

“Almost,” Yugi repeated with a teasing tone. 

"That’s what he gets for being the first to fall asleep at the slumber party.” Malik teased the outline of Bakura’s shoulder. He didn’t even flinch because he was out so hard; it was endearing. “I'll go first since I suggested the game—back rubs. No one touched my back for so long, and even now there aren't many people I could tolerate behind me, so when I'm comfortable enough to _let someone massage me_." Malik sighed, hearing the dreaminess in his tone. "I can't get enough. What about you, Kek?" 

"Anything rough." Kek spoke in a soft voice and teased Bakura's hair as a distraction. "There are pieces of me that haven't changed. I see a killer in a movie and think of how much _better_ I'd be at hunting people than in the film. And I don't act on those urges, but they gnaw at my fantasies, so when I can tug at hair, and bite, and scratch, and make someone scream but not feel guilty because they enjoy it as much as I do—that's the best." 

"You're so good at pulling hair too," Yugi complimented Kek. 

“Thanks.” Kek chuckled. 

"I like sensation play. Textures, temperatures, anything that I can _feel_ in this body." Ryou hugged himself. "Sometimes... I just need to be reminded this body is mine, you know?" 

"Because of the Ring?" Atem asked.

"Of course because of the Ring." Ryou sighed.

"Does Bakura know?" 

"We talk a lot. I wouldn't be with him if we couldn't talk. It might sound weird, but…" 

"It wasn't like with us," Yugi said. "Zorc was more active in the Ring." 

"Yes. The Bakura he is now is almost the same Bakura he was when we'd hide in my soul room." Ryou reached over Kek and touched Bakura's shoulder. “I remember the first night at home after Battle City. He stole into my soul room as I slept and curled into the bed without saying a word and slept as hard as he’s sleeping now. I think he missed Malik.” 

Malik was not the sort to blush often, but his cheeks flushed as Ryou spoke. Ryou flipped to his other side, laced both his fingers with Atem’s and squeezing. 

“Kek explained that you’re the one who pulled them out of the Shadow Realm, and I just wanted to directly tell you thank you. I don’t think my spirit could have rested even after I died knowing Bakura’s soul was lost to the Shadows.” 

“Wait.” Malik sat upright, jaw slack in shock. “ _Atem_ pulled them out?”

“Yup.” Kek near chirped, cheerful and grinning and giving Atem a tender, fond glance over Ryou’s shoulder. 

“I had to do something.” Atem pulled his hands away from Ryou to hid his face. 

“Hmm...I suppose I owe you my thanks as well.” Malik brushed the hair away from Bakura’s forehead. 

"He was never a very good villain." Yugi smiled.

"Yeah, he was pretty easy to thwart," Atem peeked out from behind his hands.

"If he was awake he'd be lunging over us to smack you." Kek chuckled. 

"No, he'd just mouth off." Atem shook his head.

"Mouthing off is one of his specialties." Malik curled his arm around Bakura's waist. "It's your turn, Atem. What gets your heart racing?" 

"It's embarrassing." Atem hid his face again.

"We haven't gotten to Yugi yet." Ryou and Kek giggled when they realized they'd spoken in tandem.

"But I've never...so I've only thought of what I'd like to do, and I don't really know, but usually in my daydreams I'm pinned against the bed or wall." Atem drew hieroglyphs on the sheets so he couldn’t see anyone’s reactions to his words. 

"Ah yes, so you can't run away," Ryou said. “An excellent strategy.” 

"Wow, Ryou, wow. Call me right out." Atem’s gaze flicked to Ryou. 

"Was my analysis too accurate?" Ryou fished the cartouche from beneath Atem’s shirt and brushed his thumb over each letter. 

"Sort of. Maybe a little. But it also has to do with everyone obeying my every word as Pharaoh... I think it'd be nice to be told what to do instead—not in a demanding way, but like a game." 

“Oh, so all we have to do is turn flirting into a game?” Ryou brushed the edge of the cartouche along Atem’s collarbone. “And then you’ll want to win and get competitive.” 

“Probably.” Atem laughed at himself. “I understand games. They have set rules. Even when someone cheats, after you figure out _how_ they cheat you incorporate that into the rules and play around the disadvantages.” 

"So do you like this?" Yugi pushed his hands against Atem's chest, shoved him on his back, and loomed over him. 

Atem’s eyes rounded, huge and purple. He nodded, chest rising and falling beneath Yugi’s hands pushing him firmly against the mattress. 

"And if I told you to spread your legs?" 

Atem hesitated as he blush crept down his throat, but obeyed the order. Yugi nestled between the V of Atem’s body. Atem gasped, and Yugi hovered his lips close. His stare was very seriously, determined, his game face. Malik and Kek exchanged an amused glance before returning to the scene. 

Yugi spoke close to Atem’s lips. "Is this how you want me to start acting if I want to get closer to you?" 

Atem’s breath was thin, but he didn't break eye contact. He swallowed before sucking in a shaky inhale, steeling himself and nodding his head.

“Well, now that _I_ understand the rules of this game—we’ll have to start playing.” Yugi pressed their noses together in an ancient-style kiss. 

"A pretty, little, tamed Pharaoh? Might be fun," Malik cooed. 

"See, this is why I didn't want to say anything." Atem's face continued to glow pink through his almond complexion. “You’re all teasing me.” 

“Atem, I would _never_ tease you.” Yugi’s brow wrinkled. 

"I promise no one is teasing you, Atem," Ryou said. 

"Yet," Malik added. “I intend to tease you plenty once I’m settled.” 

“Why now?” Atem shifted his gaze toward Malik only a moment before returning to Yugi above him. 

“I’ve been trying for years.” Yugi gave Atem a sad smile before rolling onto his own section of the bed. 

“Because I live here now, obviously.” Malik lay on his back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Missing Bakura and Kek was bad enough. I wasn’t going to add to my suffering while I was still in Egypt.” 

“Did you really miss me?” Kek asked. 

“Of course.” Malik exhaled. “I always have fun when we all hang out, of course I miss everyone after I leave, especially you.” 

“I didn’t know.” Kek reached over Bakura so he could brush his knuckles across Malik’s cheek. “Thanks for telling me now.” 

“You’ve been with Ryou too much, listen to those manners.” Malik attempted to lighten the mood. “I thought we were playing Truth, but only the sexy version? This is starting to get too heavy.”

"Well, it’s Yugi’s turn, so that should liven up the conversation." Kek smirked at Yugi. "Are you going to give us a list?" 

"Huh?" Yugi wrenched his gaze away from Atem. "Oh, um, yeah, let's see…Where do I begin?" Yugi bit his bottom lip. "Massages are fun, so that was a good one, but rough sex is also fun, and sensation play, bondage, of course, and spanking, and toys! I can't get enough of toys, and leather, and mirrors, and sex in front of fireplaces, and in the shower, and in rooms where you’re not suppose to have sex, like the kitchen? I can't decide on a favorite. I really just enjoy... almost everything." 

"I imagine your current favorite is going to be shoving Atem against a wall." Ryou hid a giggle behind his hand. 

"Probably." Yugi also giggled, face glowing.

"Damn Yugi." Malik tapped his finger against his lip. "Now I'm thinking about mirrors and firelight." 

"There's a fireplace in this room." Kek glanced toward the corner which indeed had a large, brick fireplace. 

"You're right. It was one of the appeals of this house." 

"If you need help setting up mirrors, I'm very strong." Kek winked. 

"You're too kind to offer, but I'm thinking about installing _a lot_ of mirrors, so I might need _a lot_ of help." 

"Yugi's always ready to help a friend," Ryou said. 

“I’d help...if you wanted me to,” Atem said, holding his cartouche and staring at it as if he could scry some sort of answer from the letters written there. 

“Yes. I would,” Malik answered. 

“Excuse me.” Ryou yawned. "I think I'm about to join Bakura, though. Fun as this game is, it’ll be dawn soon." 

"If we were playing Monster World you wouldn't be yawning," Yugi said, but he yawned himself as soon as the words left his mouth. 

"Maybe so," Ryou murmured.

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.” Yugi dropped to the other side of Atem, laying his head on Atem's chest so he could watch Ryou fall asleep. 

Atem reached out and carded his fingers through Yugi’s hair. Yugi gave Atem a reassuring squeeze. Atem drew his other hand to Yugi’s back, resting it there. Yugi placed a kiss to Atem’s sternum, and they settled together, tentative but needy as they held each other. Feeling everyone quiet and drifting off, Malik spoke. 

"Thanks again, everyone, for the party and for helping me surprise Bakura." Malik shut his eyes, smiling. "I already feel at home."

"Good." Ryou reached out, squeezing Malik's hand and that was the last thing Malik remembered before falling asleep.


	24. Atem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter where Atem finally sorta gets it (he still runs away at least once in the chapter tho b/c habit's a bitch)

Atem sighed. His mind pulling away from a sweet, sweet dream about bathing in the Nile. In the dream the sun seared his skin but several hands poured cool river water from jars onto his burning body. Atem moaned, trying to sink back into the dream.

"Five more minutes," someone muttered beside him.

A leg was planted over his crotch, the weight of it rubbing lazily against his morning wood. An arm was slung over him from the opposite direction, squeezing him in a fierce embrace. Had the afterlife been _this good_ , Atem might not have had the strength to leave it.

"How did I end up in bed?" Bakura muttered—even with his eyes closed, Atem recognized Bakura's voice.

"Kek carried you."

Atem guessed the next voice to be Malik's.

"Are we all in bed together?" Bakura sounded confused.

"Your powers of observation astound me," Malik said.

"Do not fucking tell me I spent _another_ drunken night fucking _cuddling_ instead getting my brains screwed out of my skull." Bakura groaned.

"Looks like it," Atem yawned, awake enough to open his eyes.

"Fuck you. The last time was _your fault_." Bakura growled.

"Well, if you want to fuck, we _are_ in a bed." Atem grinned, turning Bakura's words around.

“You’re an asshole,” Bakura said. “And the gods are unjust. This is absolute bullshit.”

As Bakura ranted, Atem noticed the arm clinging to him was Yugi, and the slender white leg still nudging his increasingly hard cock belonged to Ryou. Suddenly, his jokes about getting fucked weren't as funny, and Atem wished he wasn't wearing clothing.

"You missed all the sexy kink talk last night." Kek cat-stretched, tongue lolling outside of his mouth as he yawned.

“Seriously?” Bakura’s mouth dropped.

“Serious as a tomb.” Kek winked.

“Classy.” Malik wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Don't have sexy conversations without me." Bakura's entire face twisted into an epic pout.

"Five more minutes, I swear," Ryou muttered, pushing a little closer to Atem.

"Um…" Atem enjoyed the sensation, but wasn't sure if Ryou was aware of who he was nudging against. “Ryou?”

"Huh…?" Ryou fluttered his eyes open and blushed, giving Atem more space. "I'm very sorry. I’m used to cuddling whoever’s beside me when I sleep."

"S'okay, I...um…" Atem fumbled on his words, smooth as ever. He wanted to slam his face against the wall to relieve the awkwardness strangling him.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Ryou asked.

“Yeah.”

"Well, if it's okay…" Ryou hitch his knee back to Atem's crotch.

“Oh…um...” Atem bit his lip to suppress a moan and tried his best not to nudge against the pressure.

"So what's for breakfast?" Ryou hummed as he pressed a little closer as he caressed Yugi’s arm.

Atem remembered their talk of games the night before. Unlike Malik who was direct, Ryou was testing out how much he could flirt without actually flirting. And wasn't that what the entire night had been about? Kissing games, and Kek getting them all to share a bed together when the polite move would have been allowing Malik and Bakura to spend their first night together alone? Even now, Ryou and Yugi were having an unspoken challenge on who could cuddle Atem harder while Kek and Bakura were in a wrestling match despite Malik threatening to kick them both out of bed if they didn't stop.

And when Atem thought of it in game terms instead of romance it became easy for him to predict what would happen next. Someone would suggest breakfast in bed so as to not break up their proximity. Malik would most likely order Bakura to fetch something. Bakura would argue, but capitulate and do as Malik said.

"Bakura," Ryou sighed—as if on cue— “would you be a dear and fetch the cookies so we don't have to get out of bed?"

"Don't you dare get the cookies," Kek warned. "Get the sandwiches and make this trash panda eat some real food."

"Grab both. I'm pretty hungry," Malik said.

"What makes any of you think _I'm_ going to get anything for any of you? Especially after you had all the fun conversations after I fell asleep." Bakura pinched Kek. Kek growled and retaliated on both of Bakura's nipples.

" _Ah_! Hey now, you're playing dirty." Bakura grabbed Kek’s shoulders.

"Dammit Bakura, I told you to quit antagonizing him. Now you have to bring us breakfast as your penalty." Malik tickled Bakura's ribs.

"Fat fucking chance." Bakura squirmed between Malik and Kek.

"You'll go if you know what's good for you." Malik dug his fingers a little deeper.

"Never!" Bakura laughed, kicking out his feet.

"Never?" Kek attacked from the other side.

"Fuck! Fuck! Okay!" Bakura shouted. "Cheating bastards. I always fantasized about getting double teamed, but not like this."

The mental image Bakura's words evoked set Atem's cheeks ablaze. He cleared his throat, straining to sit up while Ryou and Yugi both rested on top of him.

"I can help you bring the trays up," Atem offered, needing a few minutes to compose himself.

"Don’t go. I'm comfortable," Yugi whined, holding tighter.

I'll be right back." Atem kissed Yugi's forehead. Yugi and Ryou both released him, each sighing as they let go, and Atem scrambled after Bakura.

"So what did I miss last night?" Bakura asked as they descended the stairs. "Any scandalous sexy secrets I should know about?"

"I think Yugi accidentally convinced Malik to line the ceiling with mirrors."

"Nice." Bakura opened the fridge and grabbed the extra platter of sandwiches Ryou had made.

"So when are we doing the taco challenge?" Atem asked, holding the cookie platter.

"I'll order the hot sauces today. We can do it as soon as they arrive—turn it into our first gaming night."

"Can't wait."

"Why are you grinning?" Bakura narrowed his gaze in suspicion.

"I'm not." Atem stared at the cookies to hide it, but he _was_ grinning. It was finally sinking in, all at once, that everyone had been trying to flirt with him for a very long time, but he’d always mistaken their efforts as either friendship, or in Bakura’s and Malik’s case, scheming.

"Bullshit." They headed up the stairs. "I know you, and I know that grin. That's the 'I'm about to pull the perfect card from my hand and wreck your ass in this duel' grin."

"Sounds like you're projecting your desire to get your ass wrecked onto my expressions." Atem grinned more broadly.

Bakura wasn't wrong. Atem was smiling because he had a feeling he knew how their first gaming night would end—if his predictions were as good as the ones he made about Bakura being sent to fetch breakfast.

"I hardly think you're the man for the job of wrecking my ass." Bakura snorted.

"Maybe not." They reached the top of the stairs, and Atem whispered in Bakura's ear, "But I'll bet you an Armament of Lethal Lords I could suck you out of your damn mind."

"I'm willing to take that bet." Bakura gave Atem a lidded stare.

"You don't have the card," Atem said.

"I'll steal one!"

"Oh please." Atem rolled his eyes.

"Baby, you know I'm good for it."

Kek raised an eyebrow when they walked into the room. "Did you just call Atem _baby_?"

"Facetiously!"

"I don't know...you sounded genuine, and dare I say... affectionate?" Malik smirked.

"I was trying to get a blow job," Bakura said as if that explained everything.

"Cookies!" Ryou cheered when Atem crawled into bed.

"I give up. Eat the cookies." Kek tossed his hands into the air.

"I'm eating both." Ryou said between bites of cookie, though he did snatch a cucumber sandwich from the other platter.

"Breakfast in bed. Finally. The treatment I deserve." Malik kissed Bakura's temple.

"Oh my gods, look at Bakura's face light up from that kiss!" Yugi gripped his chest. "My heart can't take the cuteness."

"Shut the fuck up, Yugi!"

"Stop being a wimp and own your cuteness, Bakura," Ryou teased.

"I hate all of you."

"But we love you." Ryou leaned over Kek to kiss Bakura's other temple.

"Yeah." Kek mimicked Ryou's action.

"You're just saying it to be a pain." Bakura glared at Kek.

"You know I love causing pain," Kek whispered against Bakura's lips.

Bakura licked Kek's bottom lip and Kek jerked away, surprised. "Hey, _I'm_ the one who's supposed to lick people."

"He was establishing dominance by licking you first." Yugi laughed.

"You lick it; it's yours. Those are the rules," Ryou said. Kek licked Ryou's cheek. Ryou scrunched his face, wiping his skin dry. "Ugh. I walked myself into that one."

"Hmm, who else should I claim?" Kek scanned each person sitting on the bed.

" _Do not_ lick me. _I will_ slap you," Malik warned.

"Temper, temper." Kek clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Please." Malik grabbed his phone and winced. "Three texts from Isis already. I better call her." Malik disappeared from the bedroom.

"I'd love to stay here all day and be a nuisance, but I have a half shift at the Game Shop, so I better get ready." Kek kissed Ryou. "See you when I get home."

"I'll have dinner waiting for you."

Kek crawled out of bed to kiss Yugi. "I'll see you when I get home."

"Have a good day at work." Yugi kissed him a second time.

Kek caught Atem off guard when he grabbed the collar of Atem's shirt and tugged him close. "I'm not sure when I'll see you next, so here's a little goodbye for you too." He plucked a quick, demanding kiss from Atem's mouth.

Atem's heart leapt out of his chest. Every nerve in his body begged for more, but all he did was wave goodbye.

Before Kek could pull anything similar on Bakura, Bakura leapt into Kek's arms and stole his own kiss. Kek's giggling broke them apart. He set Bakura down and pinched him before running away so Bakura couldn't retaliate.

"Bitch!" Bakura called down the steps as Kek left.

"So what are you doing today, Atem?" Ryou placed his hands on Atem's thigh.

"Uh…"

"We're watching movies again if you'd like to join us." Yugi rested his hand on Atem's other thigh.

He knew he was in for a wonderfully agonizing afternoon of less and less subtle flirting if he agreed to hang out with them, but he was getting the hang of their game and couldn't resist playing for the rest of the afternoon.

"Sure."


	25. Bakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two just can't shut up even when they're trying to have cozy "welcome to our new home" sex

Malik walked into the bedroom, sighed, and dropped beside Bakura.

"Isis is off the phone. Everyone else has left. Last night was fun, but it's good to be alone for a few minutes. I'm still settling into this place." 

"Mmm, I think I'm already settled." Bakura hummed, relaxing into the mattress.

"Yeah?" Malik raised an eyebrow. "Cuz wherever you hang your hat is home?" 

Bakura turned and whispered against Malik's lips. "Because wherever you are is home." 

"Gods, I've missed you." Malik rolled so he could lay on top of Bakura. 

"Yeah?" Bakura snaked his arms around Malik's waist.

"Yeah." Malik sank low and sucked Bakura's bottom lip.

Bakura murmured Malik's name. Their kisses garbled the word, but he held Malik tighter, squeezing. Malik sighed through his nose, plunging fully into the kiss. Their hands groped for each other. Every curve and slope was familiar and well explored, but neither of them ever bored with touching the other. Malik inserted himself between Bakura's thighs. Licking Bakura's bottom lip, he slipped his hand beneath Bakura's shenti.

"Rather cordial of you to make yourself so easily available." 

Bakura clicked the roof of his mouth and finger gunned Malik. His cocky expression dissolved when Malik grabbed hold of Bakura's dick. His eyes rolled back and he mewled. Arching his hips toward the ceiling, Bakura gripped the sheets. 

"Hmm... have I unpacked the lube yet?" Malik teased as he fetched a bottle from under one of the pillows. 

He was amazed that no one found it the night before. Had they, Malik's bed would probably have extra mileage on it. He needed to leave it in a more obvious place next time. Malik chuckled, imagining the banter.

"What?" Bakura panted as Malik fumbled with his cock. 

"My mind was wandering and I thought stick to the task at hand, but the task at hand is your dick in my hand." Malik winked. 

Bakura chuckled with him. He lidded his gaze.

"Your mind was wandering. Am I boring you?"

"Not at all." Malik filled his hands with lube. He coated Bakura's cock and used both hands to pump him. "I was just surprised no one found the lube when they all crashed here last night." 

"How did that happen anyway?" 

"Kek asked to join us, and you were already asleep so I didn't see any harm, but the moment I said yes he pulled a buy one get two free deal." 

"And then Ryou and Yugi dragged Atem with them," Bakura finished.

"Bingo." Malik slipped a finger up Bakura's ass.

"Gods yes." Bakura's eyelids fluttered shut.

"How would you feel about Kek in our bed?" Malik asked in a casual way that told Bakura he was scheming.

"Like a sleepover?" Bakura parted his legs wider, and Malik added a second finger. "Or like sex?"

"Yes." 

"As long as you two aren't tickling me." Bakura chuckled, but Malik's ministrations plus the thought of Malik and Kek both in Bakura at the same time was making it hard to pull air into his lungs. 

"And Friday and Saturday are club nights?" 

"Yeah." 

Bakura answered without his usual banter. He was too aroused and wanted Malik inside of him. Answering a few questions was a fair price to get what he wanted. He rolled his hips, groaning when Malik brushed against his prostate. 

"And you haven't bedded Atem yet?" 

"No, but believe me it's not from lack of trying. He...plays a slow game." 

Malik leaned closer, angling his fingers to massage Bakura's prostate more thoroughly.

"Ooo—fuck, Malik, fuck! I'm ready!" 

"One more question...you want to partner up one more time in order to hunt the Pharaoh?" 

"It was pretty electrifying last time." Bakura grinned at the Slifer joke even as he called out. He decided to add a Ra joke for good measure. "Got…rather...hot toward the end." 

"Speaking of hot…" Malik coated his shaft and eased into Bakura.

“Yes!” Bakura shouted as Malik glided in one centimeter at a time. It dawned on him that they were in a house, not an apartment, so Bakura let out a longer, louder groan.

"You look so good." Malik eased out and slid in. "I have fucking missed you." 

"And I have missed your fucking." Bakura couldn't laugh at his own joke because of his gasps. "Been...too long." 

"This time, I won't leave after a few weeks." Malik rocked his hips, sighing at how good it felt to be inside of Bakura, to know they could take their time because there was finally time to take. 

"I wouldn't let you anyway." Bakura knotted his arms and legs around Malik's body. "Clearly you're trapped here forever." 

"Oh no. The terror." Malik chuckled.

His laughter was contagious. They both giggled against each other's necks, their laughter only breaking up because of the soft moans escaping them as they moved together. 

"You know what I've really missed?" Bakura huffed. 

"What?" 

Bakura held Malik's face and kissed him.

"Yeah," Malik gasped for air when they broke apart. "Me too. I even missed your stupid jokes." 

"Whatever, you love my jokes." Bakura's face wrinkled. "Malik, touch me, I want to come."

"So...soon?" Malik asked, but he wasn't fooling Bakura.

"Been too long. I want it now."

Malik's thrusts sped up, and his cock was rock hard as it struck Bakura's prostate. Malik didn't have much longer left, and Bakura wanted to come with Malik still inside him. Fortunately, Malik fisted his hand around Bakura's cock and stroked him in a steady rhythm.

"Mmm-Malik." Bakura grabbed Malik's outer thighs, encouraging him to go harder.

Their banter stopped as they concentrated on their pleasure. Bakura squeezed his muscles, arched his shoulders, and called out in quick, short bursts. Euphoria expanded through his body, he couldn't think or act on his own, everything was a mad swirl of instinct and want and desire reaching its peak. 

Malik's shouts echoed from far away as he came. It wasn't until it was over, and Malik was laying on Bakura's belly and kissing him senseless, that Bakura's brain began working again, and its first thoughts were how this was theirs now. No more quick flings from visit to visit and then months of Skype calls and texting. Simply them arguing about bacon versus tempeh every morning for years to come.

Bakura dug his fingers into Malik's hair, buried his face against Malik's neck, and used all his skills and remaining energy to do nothing but breathe, sucking in Malik's scent with each inhale.


	26. Kek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> raise your hand if you grumbled "it's about fucking time" during this chapter 😂

Kek felt his phone vibrate in his pocket while he vacuumed the game shop. He waited until he cleaned the last section of flooring before reading Yugi's messages.

_Hey_

_Close early and come home_

_We need your help with a game_

Kek rolled his eyes, sending a return text.

_I only have 15mins. Be home for games soon <3 _

Slipping the phone in his pocket, Kek rolled the cord around the vacuum and tucked it into the closet. Another buzz alerted him to a new message.

_I've already waited seven years to play the Shove Atem Against The Wall Game. 15 extra mins might kill me D:_

Kek laughed, shaking his head.

_Okay, okay. I'll lock up, but only because your life depends on it ;)_

_Thank you <3 <3 <3_

"Dork," Kek muttered under his breath, but only because the three hearts had Kek's cheeks burning.

Kek locked the doors, closed the register, and gave the shop a final walk through. While checking everything, the hairs on the back of Kek's neck bristled and a chill attacked his spine. Something dark and _ravenous_ watched him.

Kek spun around, but nothing was there. The glass case protecting the clay jar and elemental dragon cards glinted in the light. Against his will, Kek stepped forward, mesmerized by the allure of the game. Like a puppet, he reached out, longing to hold the cards in his hands, to give in and help feed the empty nothing raging within the glass jar. 

Another text from Yugi saved him.

A picture loaded onto his phone screen. Ryou was twirling a finger in Atem's hair, and Atem's cheeks were red enough to show even in the picture.

_I know! I know! Omw!_

Kek swyped into his phone before grabbing his bike keys and speeding home. Gorgeous men aside, Kek was relieved to see them all. Atem and Yugi's heka soothed Kek's irritated soul, and Ryou's magic made him feel safer.

"Kek? Are you all right?" Ryou rushed to him when he walked into the living room. He cupped Kek's cheeks. "You're pale, and I think you might have a fever." 

Kek smashed his mouth against Ryou's, desperate. He needed Ryou's touch; he needed to remember how to live in the light. The jar from the game shop was pulling at his soul, trying to drag him back to the darkness. Only the others could break its hold on Kek.

"Kek, _are_ you okay?" Yugi asked with raw concern.

"I love you," he whispered against Ryou's mouth.

He grabbed Yugi next. His fingers tugged Yugi's hair as he murmured _I love yous_ against Yugi's neck between kisses. On instinct, he grabbed Atem, shoving him against the nearest wall and bruising Atem's mouth with the weight of his kisses.

"I love you," he said, meaning every word of it.

It wasn't the slow budding romantic love he'd cultivated for Ryou and Yugi over years of living with them. His love for Atem was a flash of intense light in the darkness—a god plunging into the Shadow Realm solely to save two discarded, broken souls. He'd fallen in love a little that day—when Atem not only rescued him, but gave him his own, unique body and a chance for a real life—but he hadn’t been ready to process an emotion as strong as love, so he'd buried the feeling the way Malik used to bury his anger. But now he needed it. Now he had to rescue it from the bottom of his subconscious and cling to it lest a new sort of emptiness swallow Kek whole. He dropped to Atem's neck and sucked; Atem shuddered in desire and moaned.

"Want to know the magic words?” Kek whispered into Atem's ear. 

"Sh-sure," Atem stammered as he took in a shallow breath.

"No. Stop. Don't. All mean end the game. Wait means wait. Please will get you anything you ask for—especially from Ryou." Kek swallowed Atem's top lip, tugging on it before pulling away. "I’m going to carry you to the bed now." 

"Please." Atem clawed at Kek's shoulders. His throat clicked when he swallowed. "Please." 

Kek scooped Atem into his arms,, and Atem roped his arms around Kek’s neck. Glancing at the others, Kek nudged his head toward the bedroom and raised an eyebrow in question. They stared with their mouths dropped open, but Yugi nodded to tell Kek to finish what he'd started. Kek swept Atem upstairs and laid him in the middle of the mattress. Yugi and Ryou ripped off their clothes before helping undress. Surrounding Atem, they stripped him bare until the four of them knelt naked on the mattress. Kek crawled behind Atem and pinned Atem's arms behind his back, leaving him exposed for Ryou and Yugi to admire. Atem trembled in Kek’s hold, igniting Kek’s primal instinct. He nibbled Atem’s neck, enjoying the soft whimpers. 

“Please...please…” Atem seemed stuck on the single word, gasping as he whispered it in a frantic voice. 

"Well, Yugi? You were so impatient. Don't hold back now." Kek licked the side of Atem's throat to punctuate his point. 

Yugi blushed as Atem gave him a full-on stare. Hesitating for only an instant, Yugi shoved Atem's legs wide open and kissed Atem's inner thighs. The kisses were slow, lingering, and hot as he meandered higher towards Atem’s pelvis. Meanwhile, Ryou slipped his tongue into Atem's mouth; the Pharaoh moaned. Ryou whispered against his lips.

"Atem? Would you do me a small favor, please?"

"Anything." Atem squirmed as Kek kissed the nape of his neck, and Yugi nipped his thighs.

"Since we decided to make a game of this, when Malik and Bakura inevitably have you in a similar position... make sure they know we got to you first." 

Atem burst into a giggling fit. Yugi had to grab Atem’s hips, and Kek had to tighten his grip to keep Atem still. Atem nodded, lidding his gaze.

"I'll make sure they know."

"Thank you." Ryou kissed him again. 

After tasting his fill of Atem’s mouth, Ryou slipped behind Yugi. He sucked Yugi's earlobe before whispering. Yugi straightened and whispered back. They jumped off the bed and rushed to their bedroom closet. 

"That over there," Kek spoke in Atem's ear. "Is Toyland. You never know what they're going to bring back, but If you have requests, they might be able to accommodate." 

"I...I don’t know. I've never…" Atem's sentence fizzled out before he finished.

"Don’t worry. I hadn't either," Kek confessed. 

"Really?" 

"Only a few weeks ago."

"Couldn't tell by kissing you," Atem said. 

" _Kekeke,_ thanks." Kek turned Atem's face and swirled his tongue into Atem's mouth.

Atem leaned into the kiss, eager for more, but Kek broke the kiss to bite Atem's shoulder. Atem called out, squirming in Kek's grip. Yugi and Ryou rushed to the bed. Yugi displayed a bright purple cock ring. 

"Is it okay if we use this on you?" 

"You can do whatever you want. I trust you." A dopey smile lit up Atem's face as he gazed at Yugi. 

"It should help you last a little longer." Ryou stole the cock ring and situated it around Atem's balls. 

Atem whimpered at Ryou's touch. It was delicate, but warm, and electrifying all at once. His cock twitched in Ryou’s hands while Yugi flung himself at Atem. He circled his arms around Atem's neck and smashed their mouths together. Ryou doused his hand in lube before passing it to Yugi. Yugi reached between Atem’s legs, prodding a single finger inside. Atem tightened for a moment, the experience too foreign, but as Yugi kissed his chest, Atem relaxed enough for Yugi to add a second finger. As Yugi prepped Atem, Ryou pushed Kek onto his back and slipped his hand between Kek's legs.

"Are you truly all right?" Ryou whispered in Kek's ear. 

"I am now." Kek attacked Ryou's neck with kisses and begged, "Please hurry. I need you." 

"A little more." Ryou added a third finger. "I want you _good and stretched_ before I take you." 

Now it was Kek's turn to squirm as Ryou teased his prostate. Beside him, Atem moaned. Free of Kek’s hold, he flung himself around Yugi, clinging to him as Yugi worked him between the legs. Atem’s wings spread out wide, glowing with light, and Atem’s nails raked down Yugi's shoulders. His locked hair flowed around him like a lion’s mane, and he murmured please again when Yugi decided to tug at them with his free hand. 

Ryou shoved his cock into Kek’s body. Kek closed his eyes, mouth open in a silent scream. Yugi continued to take his time prepping Atem and whispering declarations of endearment against Atem's skin. Kek's eyes fluttered open. He reached out and dragged his fingers through the ethereal feathers of Atem's wings.

" _Ahhh_!" Atem gave a shrill, wild cry.

"Do it again, Kek." Yugi coated his cock with another layer of lube.

Kek sank his fingers into Atem's plumage and slipped them through the feathers as slowly as possible. At the same time, Yugi lowered Atem to the mattress, pinned his wrists over his head, and eased into Atem's ass. Atem arched, screaming, only the cock ring prevented him from coming. His entire body quivered, nipples dark and erect as Yugi kissed one, sweat dabbled across his brown skin. 

“P-please,” Atem begged. 

Kek grinned. Yugi and Atem's matching, golden heka swirled around the bedroom. Ryou's magic was more subtle, caressing the four of them with soft ribbons of light, but Yugi and Atem's power didn't know how to control itself. Kek kept one hand buried in Atem's feathers, and used the other to clutch Ryou as they rocked together. 

Kek forgot all about the jar. He was absorbed in how hot and hard Ryou felt inside of him, and how wanton Atem sounded as he cried out, and how serene Yugi's face was as he held Atem close and moved, moved, moved. Kek fisted Atem’s feathers as a wave of pleasure wracked his body. 

"T-turn us...on our...s-sides s-so we can face—gods, Ryou! Right there! Face… Each other." Kek huffed the words from his mouth, on the edge and wanting to be stroked. 

Ryou and Yugi withdrew so Kek and Atem could readjust. Ryou slipped back between Kek's legs, straddling his bottom leg and holding his top like a railing. Yugi re-entered Atem, and Atem's cries sharpened. The position must have helped Yugi hit Atem's prostate because his gaze spun out of focus and his magic flared a little more brightly. Kek tangled his fingers in the glowing falcon feathers only he could see. With the other hand he grabbed the back of Atem’s head and brought their lips close. 

"Do you want to come?" 

Atem nodded, no more pleases left to whisper. Sweat glistened off his forehead. By the sounds of Yugi's grunts, Kek knew he wouldn't last much longer. Kek licked his lips, massaged Atem’s flight feathers, and locked his lidded stare with Atem’s gaze.

"Touch me, and I'll touch you." 

"You really want me to?" Atem's deep maroon-violet eyes were lust clouded and lost. He sounded as if he were afraid of Kek smacking him away the instant his hand touched Kek's cumin colored skin.

"I want you to." Kek untangled his fingers from Atem’s fingers so he could grab Atem's hand and guid it to Kek's cock. “Please.” 

Once Atem committed and wrapped his fingers around Kek, his grip was firm and his strokes were well paced. A jolt struck through Kek, better than any torture or pain. He reached for Atem, bottom hand stroking Atem in return while his top hand combed the feathers of Atem's wings. Atem squirmed, unable to endure the pleasure twisting through him. He bucked, breath hissing between clenched teeth. 

"Oh fuck!...oh fuck!...oh holy fuck! Oh-fuck-oh-fuck-oh-fuck!" Atem cursed as he came.

"Oh!" Ryou gasped. “Oh my...Atem. They're so beautiful.”

"They're gorgeous." Yugi's mouth dropped open.

They'd both frozen. Atem stopped stroking Kek—despite Kek's growls—and stared at his top wing in shock. 

"They're real…I believed you but, I never thought— _ahh!"_

Yugi ran his fingers through the golden feathers.

"Does it hurt?" 

"No it's—sensitive." Atem twisted.

"Pleeeeaaase don't stop!" Kek wailed, his cock throbbing. 

"Sorry!" Ryou continued to stare at Atem’s wings, but slammed into Kek with renewed energy. 

Relief rushed through Kek when Ryou moved again. He moaned as the pleasure coursed through him. Atem flicked his wrist faster, and Kek closed his eyes. He saw Atem’s wings whenever he looked at him, so the sight wasn’t as eventful to him as to the others. Instead of staring, he focused on how his three lover’s magic glowed and surrounded him. Their heka caressed his soul even as their skin caressed his body. As he drifted back to the edge, he heard Yugi calling out in his own orgasm. Yugi sounded so erotic, that it helped Kek return to where he’d been before they'd stopped. Whimpering, Kek scrapped his nails down Atem’s shoulders. Ryou moaned—deep and husky—coming inside of Kek. He couldn't hold back any longer. He wanted to come with Ryou. Kek arched, held his breath, and trembled as his plateau grew into a breathtaking orgasm.

After he relaxed, the others piled around him. Their bed barely big enough to fit them all. Ryou and Yugi preened Atem's wings with their fingers as he breathed heavily. After a few minutes, Yugi frowned. 

"They're fading. How sad." 

"They're still there," Kek said to comfort Yugi. “Leave your hand where it is and you’ll still be touching it.” 

"They're lovely," Ryou kissed the top ridge before it fully vanished behind the veil. 

"I remember them, a little. They grew when I decided to leave Aaru," Atem muttered, spent from love making. His expression was blissed out, and his body lay lank with utter satisfaction. 

"You flew into the Shadow Realm and rescued us." Kek brushed his fingers along Atem's distinctive cheekbone. 

Atem held Kek's hand and nodded.

"I'm so glad you came back." Yugi circled his arms around Atem.

"I am too," Atem whispered. 


	27. Kek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is too short, I'll post 2 today.

The next morning, Ryou left two breakfast trays in the bedroom for Yugi and Atem to find when they woke. He also set two spots at the table.

"Am I in trouble?" Kek gestured to the table. “You’re separating us from the pack.” 

"Of course you’re not in trouble." Ryou tossed a dry dish towel at Kek. "But I do want to talk." 

"I know." Kek sat and doodled on the table surface. 

Ryou waited, giving Kek time to sort out what he wanted to say. He poured them both coffee and sat across from Kek.

"It's the jar and the Dragon Cards." 

"You didn't open the glass, did you—" 

"I would never—" Kek blurted out, but winced when he heard his words and realized they weren’t quite true, so he added. "Not willingly." 

"What happened last night, Kek? You came home…" Ryou searched for the right description. "Frantic." 

"You never truly gave in to the Ring, did you? It was always Bakura." 

"He shielded me from the brunt of Zorc's influence," Ryou answered.

"It wasn't like that for me. The Rod called, and I answered. Me, not Malik. _Me_. Malik just took advantage of having access to the power. But the Items, they eat something inside of you, and last night… It was like the power from that jar had hooks in me, and I was…” Kek swallowed. “Afraid." 

"So you came home?" 

"Yugi told me to come home. He sent a picture of you and Atem, and it helped me remember what light felt like on my skin…" Kek gazed out the kitchen window. He reached out for a sunbeam. The light cut across his fingers. "I never want to go back to being a Shadow. I was so desperate last night—to bury myself in the light of your hekas. It made me forget the _muduri_ cards. At least until tonight. I’m nervous to go to work." 

"I'll ask Bakura to take a look at it with me. It might be time for Yugi to store it somewhere else." Ryou sipped his coffee. "Would you like company tonight? I can bring my laptop and get some work done as well." 

"You wouldn't mind?" 

"Of course not." Ryou pointed his fork toward Kek's pancakes. "Better eat those." 

"Before you do?" Kek grinned and took a huge bite. 

“You know it.” Ryou smiled. 


	28. Atem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap, for some reason I thought this was chapter 30? Nm, here y'all go~

A few days after his night with Yugi, Kek, and Ryou, Atem sat on his couch in a t-shirt and boxers. He held a pint of ice cream in his hands, and the flicker of the TV screen lit the room in blues and grays as he watched an old, American horror movie Ryou had suggested. 

The knock on the door startled Atem and his spoon clanked against his teeth. Atem glared at the door, considering ignoring it, but a second knock made him decide to answer it and try to get rid of whoever was on the other side.

Atem blinked at the harsh hallway light pouring into his living room. His mouth dropped. Malik and Bakura stood together, eyeing Atem up and down.

"Interesting choice of club attire, but you look endearing in it," Malik purred in a tone that managed to sound uninterested and intrigued both at the same time. 

"Club?" Atem asked like a complete idiot. 

In his defense, he was very gay, and Malik and Bakura were half naked and staring at him the way Seto Kaiba stared at the Egyptian God Cards.

"We've literally been going to the club every weekend for years. Why the fuck are you in your pajamas?" Bakura smacked his forehead.

"We don't go when Malik visits." 

It wasn't until he said it out loud that Atem realized how much the club had been _his and Bakura's_. There was never a reason for Atem to stay home during Malik's previous visits, but without Bakura…the club didn't seem half as alluring.

"That's because he never stayed long, but now he lives here," Bakura said. 

"It'll be nice to go to a dance club without the fear of being arrested." Malik nodded his head.

Atem sighed, the Egypt he had ruled over was very different from the place Malik had lived. He wondered if his family helped set those presidents as well, though logically he knew it was an entirely different culture, and he shouldn’t blame himself. 

"But I have ice cream," Atem said for no other reason than to be difficult.

"Not anymore." Bakura stole the pint from Atem's hand and spooned some into his mouth.

"Hey—" Atem grabbed for the pint, but Malik herded him toward the back bedroom. 

"Let's check your closet and see what we have to work with.

"I thought dairy was bad for asthma." Atem called over his shoulder to Bakura.

"Googled it. Myth." Bakura licked the spoon to taunt Atem. 

"You'll get a dessert far more decadent by the end of the night." Malik hummed.

"Enjoy your silver medal, then, because Ryou wanted you to know that he, Yugi, and Kek already won." Atem smirked as he delivered the message. Fuck Bakura for stealing his rocky road. 

"Seduction is an art, not a race." Malik drew the pad of his thumb along Atem's bottom lip. "Finishing first doesn't guarantee a victory."

Before, Malik's caresses would have sent Atem into a erotic panic, but the fact that they stopped by Atem's place to drag him to the club was comforting. Kek had been right, the night of the party. It was going to be okay. Instead of losing his only dance partner, he was gaining an extra one. Atem closed his eyes and leaned into Malik’s caress. He sighed, relieved. 

“Hurry up and get dressed or we’re leaving your ass behind!” Bakura called to him. 

“I don’t think you would.” Atem smirked. 

Atem picked a shimmering, white top. The material bunched at the top and dipped low while the hem exposed his belly. He paired it with shiny, metallic pants and enough chains and bangles to make Yugi proud. He managed to pluck the pint of ice cream from Bakura’s hand and steal the last three bites before he was whisked out the door. Atem stared at his boots—they should have been glass platforms because he felt like gay Cinderella going to the ball. Inside the club, Atem bee-lined for the bar. He needed a drink to calm his nerves more than ever, but Malik grabbed him, and pulled him into a close embrace. 

“Where do you think you’re going, little Pharaoh?” 

“Atem,” he corrected.

Malik held Atem’s chin with his thumb, tilting Atem’s head up. “Answer my question, Atem.” 

“Get a drink,” Atem murmured, a sparrow caught in the piercing, lavender gaze of a golden cobra. 

“Not tonight. I need you sober.”

“You drink too much anyway.” Bakura grabbed Atem’s arm and pulled him deeper into the crowd. 

Malik followed. He gripped Atem’s hips from the front while Bakura held them from behind. The two of them laced their fingers together, caging Atem with their bodies as they danced. As they swerved their bodies, Malik gave the crowd a half-interested once-over. 

“Where’s the prick who bothers you? If he even looks at you tonight I’m going to pluck out his eyes and keep them in a jar.” 

“I don’t think he’s here,” Bakura spoke over Atem’s shoulder. “Haven’t seen him since I beat his ass.” 

“Pity.” Malik flashed his teeth as he grinned. “I wanted to hit him too.” 

Atem shuddered. Not from fear, Malik and Bakura were more bark than bite; he shuddered because of the way their bodies were grinding against his. It was too much like sex, the sweat, the rhythm, the movement, the hot puffs of breath against their skin, the endorphins flooding their minds. He must have driven Bakura crazy as they writhed together week after week, all but making love with their clothes on, but Atem had too naive at the time to realize it.

Song after song, the three of them swayed together. Malik leaned around Atem and kissed Bakura during a slow song. Afterward, they both went for Atem’s neck, each taking their own side. Atem’s lashes fluttered as his eyelids dropped. The brushes of Malik’s and Bakura’s lips were too brief and too soft. He wanted to go back to his place, but Malik and Bakura made no signs of heading for the door. They continued to dance, to grind together, to torture Atem until he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from screaming. It wasn’t until they’d danced for a solid hour that Malik finally pulled back. He grabbed Atem’s hand and led them toward the door. Atem grabbed Bakura’s hand in turn, creating a chain with their bodies. 

“The fresh air is nice.” Malik closed his eyes and tilted his head back as they stepped outside. 

“Who’s place?” Bakura asked. 

“Mine’s closest,” Atem answered. 

“I don’t know.” Malik licked his lips, teasing them both with a quick glance. “Maybe I’m in a mood for a walk. Make you two wait a little longer.” 

“Malik.” Bakura growled. 

“Fine, fine.” Malik laughed. “We’ll go to Atem’s.” 

They swung their hands as they walked. Atem’s cheeks flushed despite the pleasant, outside air. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such raw anticipation gnawing at his guts, perhaps as far back as when he’d been trapped in the Puzzle, before dolling out a penalty game. Bakura hummed as they walked, a soft tune. Atem recognized it.

"That's a lullaby," Atem said. 

"Yeah, it gets stuck in my head." Bakura shrugged. 

"Rishid sang it to me when I was little." Malik smiled. 

"The same version?" Atem asked, amazed that it had been preserved over the millenia. 

"Almost exactly." Malik nodded. 

"That's comforting somehow, you know? That we all share a memory despite having different lives." 

"You're right." Malik nodded.

“I should be singing less and walking faster.” Bakura snorted. 

“Don’t you dare. I was enjoying your humming.” Malik shot Bakura a look that made Bakura laugh. 

“Maybe one more time, for the sake of the audience.” 

They reached Atem's apartment building and he led them to his unit. The second the door was closed, Bakura shoved Atem against it. He tugged Atem's hair, titling Atem's head to the side and growling in his ear.

"Malik mentioned you like to be handled." 

Atem was already weak-kneed and useless as a puddle. He whimpered, wordlessly begging for more. Bakura was _good_ at kissing against the wall. He kissed like he was dying for more and writhed against Atem, keeping him locked. Bakura broke with a gasp as he rolled their hips against each other. Atem whimpered, wanting to be kissed again, and Bakura practically read Atem’s mind, sucking his lips until they were wet and glistening. Malik leaned against the back of the couch, admiring the site. Biting his bottom lip, Malik stood and pulled off his shirt. 

"Bring him to the bedroom," Malik ordered, stripping out of the rest of his clothes as he walked down the hall. 

“You heard him.” Bakura twisted Atem's arms behind his back and marched him like a prisoner to his own bed.

"Strip." Malik rummaged through Atem's draws, looking for lube but not finding any. 

Bakura wrestled Atem out of his shirt. Obstinate, Atem retaliated by tearing off Bakura's in return. Bakura tackled Atem onto the bed, and tossed Atem’s belt over his shoulder before yanking his pants down. 

“No thong this time?” Bakura ran his palm over Atem’s bare skin. 

“You assholes didn’t give me time to find underwear.” 

“Wasn’t it worth it?” Malik pulled him closer as Bakura shuffled out of the rest of his clothes. 

“I guess we’re about to find out.” Atem smirked. 

“Cheeky.” Malik stole one of Atem’s bracelets and slipped it onto his own wrists. "Is there anything you _don't_ want us to do?"

Atem shook his head no. Every possible scenario racing through his head seemed wonderful—as were the kisses Bakura peppered up Atem's neck. Atem clawed at Bakura’s back, gasping as their skin slid together. 

"We're listening, so speak up if something doesn't feel right." Malik looked around the room. "Where the hell did you hide your lube?" 

"It's, uh, um, bathroom. Under the sink," Atem stammered, lost as Bakura's kisses turned to bites. 

Malik rose to fetch it. He slapped Bakura's ass as he passed the end of the bed. Bakura purred at the action before clasping his hand around Atem's throat. He leered down at Atem, the scar on his face curving. 

"I've imagined gripping your throat many times, but I never thought it'd be like this." Bakura french kissed Atem. 

Atem moaned. He could breathe, but the fingers around his neck were tight enough for him to feel the threat of them. Atem's heart raced. Memories of his night with Yugi, Ryou, and Kek consumed him, made him ache for more. His nails scraped against Bakura’s skin, catching scars along the way. Bakura growled against Atem’s mouth before kissing him more fiercely. Atem hooked his leg around Bakura’s waist, bucking. Malik returned with the lube. Bakura fisted his hand into Atem's locs and pulled him to a kneeling position. Malik drenched his fingers, maneuvered until he was directly behind Atem, and stuffed his fingers into Atem's asshole without fanfire. 

" _Oh_." Atem's eyes closed as Malik teased his fingers in and out of Atem's body. 

He knew what to expect this time, so it was easier to relax and enjoy the sensation of Malik loosening him up. Bakura faced Atem, and his kisses traveled down Atem's chest and belly. Bakura glanced up, holding Atem's gaze as he sealed his lips around Atem's cock. Atem's lips stretched in a broad O as Bakura took Atem into the base. 

Overwhelmed, Atem whimpered as they toyed with his body. He was surprised at how gentle they were. For all the bravado of Bakura holding Atem's throat, he now held Atem's hips as if they were glass, brushing his thumbs across Atem's naked skin. Bakura dipped low, encouraging Atem's dick to the back of his throat. Meanwhile, Malik's fingers were confident and nimble, but how he hugged Atem around the waist and pressed his forehead to Atem's back was soft and intimate in a way that shocked Atem. Atem's fingers curled into Bakura's hair. He hunched as the bliss burgeoning in his belly grew warm. 

"I'm... close…" Atem gasped. 

They both hummed in response. Malik placed a kiss on the nap of Atem’s neck. They worked him over more quickly. His cries grew needy, desperate to come. He wanted to come and couldn't think about anything else. One of Bakura's hands fumbled between his legs, rolling Atem's balls and making Atem's stomach dance. 

" _Ahhh_!" Atem whined, squirming in their hold. 

The rushing pleasure became _too good_ , unbearably good. Atem's cries grew loud, pouring from the deepest parts of his core. The world melted to beautiful, glittering gold as he came and came and came. Sinking against Malik, Atem hears Malik gasp first. Bakura finished swallowing before looking up and grunting as well. 

“Holy shit, they’re gorgeous.” Malik whispered, sounding awed for the first time Atem could remember. Malik’s breath tickled Atem’s feathers, making him shiver down to his soul. 

“It really was you.” Bakura’s expression softened as his eyes scanned Atem from wing tip to wing tip. 

"Yeah, apparently this happens when I come?" Atem stretched out the golden wings so Malik and Bakura could fully admire them. 

"They're glowing," Malik said, voice reverent.

He carded through the feathers, and Atem mewled as he arched into the touch. As if to compete, Bakura popped onto his knees and plunged his fingers into Atem's feathers. 

"Lightly!" Atem screamed, shuddering. "Sss-sensitive." 

"Ooops." Bakura chuckled, easing up his touch. "Hmm... I bet I can…" 

Energy coursed through Atem as Bakura added _heka_ to his caresses. Atem clutched his heart at the indescribable feelings coursing through him. Bakura's love for Malik, naturally, but also the full weight of the past—mournful and infuriating, helpless and desperate. Those emotions bled into Bakura's feelings for Atem, but they were only threads. Coiled around them were other memories. The tournaments, the night club, the forced parties hosted by Yugi and Ryou. Every time they’d exchanged a joke, of flashed a helpless grin at each other. Every time they whispered something sardonic that should have been them fighting, but had become more and more playful as the years past. Those images surrounded the hurt and rage, and twisted throughout everything else were thin threads of gold. It was Atem's own _heka_ , bound to Bakura the day he pulled Bakura from the shadows, and it was charged with Bakura's love and gratitude—different than his love for Malik, but no less beautiful. 

Atem struggled to breathe. He crashed against Bakura, grabbed his face, and smashed their mouths together. A muffled grunt escaped Bakura as Atem caught him off guard. Atem pressed on Bakura's chest, pushing Bakura onto his back. Atem's lips raced along Bakura's body. He paused to tease Bakura's nipple rings, enjoying the smooth metal against his tongue as he flicked and teased them. He only pulled away from the gold hoops to dip lower and lick Bakura's thick, tall shaft and kiss Bakura's cockhead. Bakura's response was instant, greedy, and desperate. He clawed at the covers below him and cried out, rolling his hips. 

With Atem bent over Bakura, Malik nudged the top of his lubed cock against Atem's asshole. Atem whimpered before refocusing on laving kisses over every centimeter of Bakura's cock. When Malik eased into Atem, Atem paused, crying out at the swooping sensation. He realized Malik hadn't fingered him so long merely to tease him, but to make sure Atem was prepared for Malik's girth. Panting, Atem caught his breath and waited until he could handle the slams of Malik’s hips before he lowered his lips to Bakura's base again.

"Gods…" Bakura whispered, twitching in Atem's mouth.

Malik moved rhythmically, holding onto Atem's hips. Before his wings could fully fade, Atem reached out, brushing Malik with one and Bakura with the other. Then he was lost between them. He bobbed his head, grunting through his nose each time Malik jerked his hips. Bakura swelled, almost too thick to fit in Atem’s mouth. Fortunately, between dancing and sucking Atem off, Bakura was too turned on to last more than a few minutes. After shouting at the ceiling half a dozen times, Bakura came, his body rigid and his voice hoarse from screaming. 

Atem swallowed, then gasped for air, too distracted by Malik’s thrusts to think. He pressed his forehead against Bakura’s thigh and groaned. Malik was going harder, faster. He knew Atem was adjusted well enough, and relinquished his control in order to move freely. Bakura’s fingers reached out and kneaded Atem’s shoulders. He slipped out from beneath Atem and moved next to Malik. Atem couldn’t see, choosing to shove his face in a pillow to mute his cries as Malik slammed into him over and over again, but whatever Bakura did excited Malik because he rammed forward even harder, screamed, and two minutes later came as well. Atem curled into his pillow, pleasantly exhausted.

“Do you have more ice cream?” Bakura nuzzled in between Atem and Malik, somehow sprawling over both of them at once. 

“In the freezer,” Atem murmured. 

“I’m eating it for breakfast.” 

“You’re as bad as Ryou.” Malik poked Bakura.

“That’s a compliment.” Bakura snorted. 

Atem chuckled. The entire scenario reminded him of his night with the others. They cuddled together, muttering sleepily and brushing their fingers over whoever’s skin came in reach. Again, Atem was taken back by the tenderness of it all. 

“And then Ryou laughed so hard milk squirted out of his nose,” Bakura finished, and Atem thought he’d picked the wrong time to tune back into the conversation. 

“You two are idiots.” Malik laughed. 

“Eh, he loves me too much to leave by this point.” Bakura waved Malik’s insult away. 

“You’re going to see him tomorrow, right?” Malik asked. 

“Yeah, he wanted to play _muduri_.” 

“What? Are you out of your minds?” Atem jerked up, awake. He remembered that game—Yugi’s soul being pulled into the bottomless pit of the jar, and Atem having to win the next game in order to rescue him. 

“Don’t worry. We know how to play without getting hurt.” Bakura shrugged his right shoulder. 

“Don’t play with it. It’s dangerous.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you sound like Yugi,” Bakura groaned. 

“Because Yugi knows what happens when you lose.” Atem shuddered. 

“It’s bothering Kek,” Bakura admitted, serious now. “We’re going to look at it and make sure it’s still...dormant?” 

“Didn’t you say that game was a fake?” Malik raised an eyebrow. 

“I thought it was, but…” Bakura frowned. “Kek’s highly attuned to magic. If it’s affecting him, there’s something going on.” 

“It’s not a fake,” Atem said. 

He rested his head on the pillow. He stared at the ceiling, but it might as well have been a projector for his memories. Malik broke him out of it by reaching over Bakura and resting a hand on Atem’s chest. Atem blinked, glancing at Malik. 

“Since Bakura is going to be busy, why don’t you come over for dinner? I’ll make halabessa and kushari—Bakura never lets me eat anything good.” 

“Gross. Gross. Gross.” Bakura wrinkled his face. 

“You’re stupid spicey tacos are going to be gross.” Malik nipped at Bakura’s collarbone to reprimand him. 

“I’m going to shit fire for a week and it’ll be amazing.” 

“Oh yeah, real amazing. You can also use the downstairs toilet for that.” Malik rolled his eyes. 

“I’d love to come over for dinner,” Atem slipped in his answer before Malik and Bakura could get going into their inevitable argument night-cap. 

“Arrive at 4:00, I like to eat early, and that will give us time for coffee.” 

Bakura snapped his fingers twice, teasing Malik for his curt instructions. Malik smacked Bakura’s shoulder, and they all laughed. Exhaustion from the night settled deep into Atem’s bones. He rolled onto his side and slung and arm across Bakura. Bakura chuckled and combed his fingers through Atem’s hair. Their gazes caught a final time before Atem closed his eyes and dropped into a deep sleep. 


	29. Bakura

A bell chimed when Bakura entered the game shop. His glance lifted to the display case at the end of the store. He frowned when he saw it empty. 

“Ryou has it.” Kek raked his fingers through his hair. He looked a mess. Not his usual, sexy mess, but a tired, stressed out version. 

“What’s up?” Bakura smirked at Kek and winked at Yugi who sat beside him. 

“Long night last night.” Yugi sighed. 

“Nightmares,” Kek murmured. 

Bakura remained quiet. He’d planned on bragging about sleeping with Atem, but something about the way Yugi and Kek had their fingers laced together, gripped tightly, held Bakura’s tongue. He took a step forward, wishing he was better at comforting people, but his best arsonal was “shitty puns” so Bakura shoved his hands in his pockets and said nothing. 

“I set everything in the back,” Ryou appeared, nodding at Bakura when he saw him. 

“‘Kay.” With hands still shoved in his pockets, Bakura followed Ryou to the back room where they kept surplus inventory. The usual wards and sigils marked the room, but Bakura noticed a few he’d never seen before. Incense perfumed the small space, and white candles surrounded them. Dried bundles of sage and basil hung from the ceiling, suspended in bright red ribbons. 

“You’ve upped security since the last time we played.” 

“The only thing Kek ever feared was himself. His own darkness, his own violence, he knows a few bad situations would send all his old habits crashing down on him, burying him alive, so he’s always avoided trouble not to be tempted. But Bakura, _this_ game scares him the way the dark frightens Malik, so I’m also afraid.” 

Bakura halted, studying Ryou. Ryou rejoiced over other's nightmares. He cooed when he saw monsters, and his eyes lit up at the sight of shadows. Bakura wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard Ryou say _I’m afraid_. He sat, closed his eyes, and concentrated, adding his own _heka_ to Ryou’s protection spells. He sensed Ryou sitting in front of him. Heard the soft _thump_ of the jar set onto the ground. A flash of _Dark_ hindered Bakura’s inner vision. Not the dark of the back of his eyelids, but a _Dark_ far too close to the Shadow Realm. Bakura panicked. He lashed out, slamming his hands on top of Ryou’s just as Ryou prepared to pull the string away from the deck of cards to break the seal. 

Ryou gazed at Bakura with bright magenta eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks. 

“I didn’t mean to smack your hand.” Bakura lifted Ryou’s scarred hand into both of his. He kissed the starburst scar mangling Ryou’s skin, although he didn’t think he’d smacked Ryou that hard, surely not enough for tears. 

“I didn't want to...I didn't want to. I sensed the darkness coming from the game, and I decided not to unseal it. It's too much like the Ring. So, so _hungry._ Bakura, I didn’t mean to untie the knot. My hand reached out on it’s own.” 

Bakura’s jaw slacked. He crawled over to Ryou, carding his fingers through Ryou’s hair and kissing a final tear off his cheek. Ryou curled against his chest, muttering. 

“This is what’s been happening to Kek. He’s...lured by the game. He feels like it’s urging him to unseal it and play.” 

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to lock it in a chest and leave it back here in the salt circle. That should buy us enough time to think of something more permanent.” 

Ryou nodded his head. After a moment to recover in Bakura's arms, he stood and found a large crate. Bakura helped him carry it into the circle. They snapped a padlock over the clasp and set a few boxes of games on top of it. 

“How do you feel?” Bakura held Ryou’s face. 

“Better.” Ryou shrugged. “Sheepish. Sorry I reacted so strongly. I’m not sure what came over me.”

Bakura grunted. He knew all too well the way Shadow Magic could sneak inside and control you before you could think to consent or protest. He held Ryou’s hand as they walked around the room, blowing out the candles and extinguishing the incense. There was power in dumb little things, like holding hands, and them performing the closing ritual together made it stronger.

In the main shop Bakura noticed the way the others stared at them. Ryou avoided their gaze, so Bakura walked up to Kek and slung his arm around Kek’s shoulders, acting as if nothing had happened. 

“Hey, cutie, what time do you get off work tonight?” He winked. 

“Eight.” Kek offered Bakura a queasy smile. 

“Why don’t you come over to my place and have a sleepover? I know you’re fond of that monstrosity that Malik calls a bed.” 

“What happened when you played?” Kek asked, ignoring Bakura’s offer. 

“We didn’t,” Ryou said. “It’s locked up. Yugi, we need to get rid of it.” 

“It’s too dangerous to just abandon.” Yugi frowned. “We have to think of a way to hide it permanently.” 

“You can think about it at my house,” Bakura insisted. He didn’t like the haunted gleam in their eyes, didn’t want them to be by themselves, and he wasn’t going to take a polite no for an answer. 

“Thank you, but we’ll be okay,” Ryou said. 

“Atem’s already over.” Bakura locked his stare at Yugi, knowing _that_ would be a tempting piece of bait. 

“Oh…” Yugi blushed. It burned away the shadows dimming Yugi’s expression. “Well…”

“We’ll go.” Kek glanced at Ryou for confirmation. 

Ryou nodded and touched Bakura’s shoulder. “Will you stay here with Kek while we go pack an overnight bag?” 

“Pack for a long weekend.” Bakura bumped Kek with his hip. “I’m sure the two of us can think of something to do to entertain ourselves while you’re gone—this place has insurance, right?” 

“Bakura, you break or steal _a single item_ , and I will super glue your lips shut and your fingers to your eyelids.” Yugi scowled. 

“I love when you talk dirty.” Kek hummed.

Yugi blushed again, scratching behind his head. “Anyway, we shouldn’t be gone too long. We’ll see you two in a little while.”

They exchanged kisses goodbye. Bakura usually didn’t participate in that cutesy shit for anyone but Malik, but he grabbed Ryou by the arm and pulled him in for a kiss this time. The image of Ryou weeping because the game had moved him like a pawn burned in Bakura’s memories, and he hated it. He wanted to exorcise the doubt and fear from Ryou’s eyes—even if that meant doing stupid things like kissing him (sweetly instead of erotically) in front of everyone. 

Kek sighed when they left, hugging himself and leaning against the wall. 

“It’s quiet now. What did you do?” 

“We locked it in a crate and kept the magic seals in place,” Bakura answered. 

“And you didn’t play?” 

“We didn’t have to. It’s obvious that thing is no good.” 

“It’s hungry,” Kek muttered. 

“Speaking of, I think Malik made a bunch of gross food you’ll probably like, and he always makes too much.” 

“Thanks.” Kek sighed, combing his hair again. 

“Stop worrying. It’s not half as bad as the Ring. Ryou and I will think of something.” Bakura pulled out his phone, texting the situation to Malik so he would expect the extra company. 

"I feel like I could get lost." Kek snapped his fingers. "Instantly, and everything I've gained in the last seven years— _everyone I've gained_ —will be gone, because I did something horrible to them." 

"Won't happen." Bakura shook his head, slipping his phone into his back pocket.

"How can you be so sure?" 

"You can see our _heka_ , right? Do you really think, no matter how dark, you wouldn't recognize their spark? Yugi's, Ryou's, Malik's, anyone's?" 

"You're right. Maybe I’m stronger than I think." Kek deflated with a sigh. "Thanks." 


	30. Malik

Malik was surprised about how much he and Atem had to talk about as they sipped coffee and nibbled on rose flavored turkish delight. They swapped Bakura stories, of course. His antics were a never ending source of entertainment, but they slipped in into other topics just as easily. Fashion, Egytian fragrances, food, games, they had a frightening amount in common. 

A hum from Malik's pocket interrupted him. He frowned when Bakura's name popped on the screen.

"What's wrong?" Atem asked. 

"It's from Bakura: _Fuck that game. Everyone is staying with us until I figure out how to get rid of it_." Malik looked up. "Guess I'm setting the table for four extra people." 

"The game contains its own version of Shadow Magic, but I'm not sure why Bakura is acting so cautiously?" Atem pursed his lips. “He didn’t seem to be bothered by it last night.” 

"If it’s bothering the others, then it’s probably bothering him,” Malik said. “I think he over-worries about losing his family a second time and gets frantically protective." Malik shook his head. He rose and gathered extra plates and cutlery.

Atem hummed in response. He rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought.

"Why don't you tell me about this game?" Malik set a kettle on the stove for tea. "Bakura and Ryou have played it, but Yugi seemed stressed about the fact, and last night you said it was because he knew what happens when someone loses. _What exactly happens_?" 

"If you lose, the jar steals your soul. There was this kid, Imori, who wanted the Puzzle, so he forced Yugi to play. After Yugi lost, his soul was captured. Fortunately I was able to fight Imori in a rematch. Yugi's soul was released and the jar took Imori instead." 

"Why did Imori want the Puzzle?" 

"I...may have played too many Shadow Games to punish the bullies who picked on Yugi. Imori figured out the Puzzle was the source of that power." Atem rubbed the back of his neck.

"You're no better than Bakura." Malik shook his head.

"I know." Atem smiled. 

Noise echoed from the front of the house. Bakura was the first to crash into the kitchen.

"Honey, I'm home!" 

"I made _kofte_." Malik fixed the tea.

"Gods, I love you." Bakura nuzzled against Malik's neck.

"Good, then you can wash dishes." 

"Don't we have a maid or something?" 

"She only comes once a week to clean baseboards, dust, and tidy up. You still have to do the dishes." Malik smacked Bakura’s ass. 

"We do? How savage." Bakura gasped as he loaded up a dinner plate for Yugi while Malik did the same for Kek.

"Sorry we're crashing your dinner, Malik." Ryou entered the kitchen with Yugi and Kek. 

"The more the merrier." Atem smiled at them. 

"You look so tired." Malik held Kek's face, brushing his thumbs up Kek's cheeks. 

"You're not going to make us sleep in the guest room, are you?" Kek asked. This time he wasn't being sly—desperation weighed heavy in his tone. 

"Of course not." Malik kissed Kek's forehead and stroked his head. "And you're welcome to stay as long as you need." 

Kek nodded. Malik hated how small and weary Kek looked as he curled in Malik's arms. Malik had never seen the game, but it must have been powerful for Kek to be so drained.

"Let's eat." Yugi guided Kek to the table. 

"What happened?" Atem asked.

"Despite the magic seals, protection spells, and charms, the game... controlled me." Shame darkened Ryou's expression. "I didn't want to go near it. I could feel the magic was too strong to safely release, but I couldn't resist and almost unleashed its power. Bakura stopped me." 

"All I did was smack your hand," Bakura said.

"It was enough."

"We have it sealed, but the way its magic felt… It won't hold for long." Bakura scowled. "I know you guys live a few blocks away from the game shop, but I don't want you anywhere near fifteen kilometers of that damn jar. You're staying here." 

"Bakura, I'm sure we'll be okay," Ryou said. 

"This isn't a debate." Bakura snapped his teeth into his food.

"I'll visit Grandpa tomorrow and explain to him that Kek is too sick to work for a couple of weeks. Uh, also why the back room looks like an occult tornado went through it." 

Kek dropped his fork, muttered under his breath, and rushed out of the kitchen. Malik gestured for everyone to remain sitting. He walked after Kek and found him curled on the sofa crying thick, enraged tears. 

"It's not fair." Kek sniffed. "I've gotten better. Why does it affect me? I wanted to be better. I shouldn't get lured in by a dark game so easily. I can’t even go to work and do my job. I’m useless." 

"It's not because you're bad." Malik curled his arms around Kek. "It influenced Ryou as well. It's hitting you hardest because you're sensitive to magic not because you’re useless." 

Malik kissed Kek's temple and nose. He dried the tears from Kek's cheeks and rubbed circles on the sun disk seared onto Kek's back. Kek flung himself into Malik's arms. Malik rested his head in Kek's tuft of spikes. After a few minutes, Kek fell asleep. Malik held him for a little long before slipping from beneath him and wrapping a cashmere throw over Kek. He watched Kek for a solid minute to make sure he was sleeping soundly, then returned to the kitchen.

"How is he feeling?" Yugi asked.

"He's asleep." Malik sat in his chair.

"Poor Kek." Ryou sighed. 

"He'll be okay once we get rid of that game," Bakura said. 

The kitchen grew quite as they finished their supper, and stayed quiet as Atem and Ryou helped Bakura clean. He and Malik tried to bicker about dishes, but neither had the spirit to argue much. The question of what to do next weighed on all of them. 

"I usually fix these sorts of things by playing games, but this time the problem _is_ the game." Atem crossed his arms over his chest.

"Please go duel the creepy dragon game." Bakura snorted. "I want to see how you somehow pull it off at the last second."

"Glad you have so much confidence in me, Bakura." Atem blew him a kiss. 

"Are you clowns done cleaning yet? I'm ready to go to sleep." Malik yawned.

"Nothing's stopping you. Shoo." Bakura gestured for Malik to leave. 

"Kek's sleeping on the couch. I need help getting him to bed." 

"I got this." Bakura tossed his kitchen towel onto the counter and sauntered toward the living room.

"You scrawny, asthmatic nerd. Get your ass back here before you hurt yourself." Malik frowned.

"I can help." Atem followed him. 

"Maybe you should let Yugi and I—" Ryou spoke, but the other two already had Kek by the arms and legs.

"Don't hurt him to make yourselves feel macho." Ryou shook his head.

"This…is...cake." Bakura grunted. They waddled sideways until they reached the stairs.

"Turn around so we can get him up," Atem instructed.

"Hell no. _You_ walk backward up the stairs." 

"I'm awake, you idiots. What the fuck are you doing?" Kek popped an eye open.

"Shut-up. We're carrying you lovingly to bed." 

"You're going to drop me." 

"We're not going to drop you," Atem argued.

"They are so going to drop you." Malik leaned against the staircase with a hand planted on his hip. 

"You got this." Yugi cheered behind them.

"Yugi please." Ryou hid his face in his palms. “Don’t encourage them.” 

"Race up the stairs!" Yugi clapped.

"Malik, where's your first aid kit?" Ryou asked.

"Up the stairs in the master bathroom." 

"Oh dear." Ryou sighed.

Bakura swapped his position so he could face the right way as they climbed. Kek sagged in their hold, a centimeter above the edges of the steps.

"Jokes aside, don't drop me." 

"We're not dropping you." Atem panted, only halfway up. 

"Pull tighter or you're going to bash my head against the steps." Kek squirmed. 

"Won't damage anything important," Bakura promised.

"Just because you're a blockhead doesn't mean Kek's skull is made out of wood." Malik followed close behind them in case they _did_ drop him.

"Here we are, being all chivalrous and shit, and all I hear is bitching—except for Yugi. You're great Yugi because you cheered for us." Bakura gave Yugi a quick wink.

"Seconded," Atem said.

"I assure you, your valentry is causing me to swoon." Yugi called up from the base of the stairs.

"And I assure you, your stubborn idiocy is making Malik swoon—that seems to be his type," Ryou added.

"Hey, you're sleeping with these idiots too," Malik retorted. 

"That's no way to talk about Kek." Bakura led them into the bedroom.

"Fuck you! You know he's talking about you!" Kek shouted.

"We'll toss him on three," Atem said. "One—"

"Bitch, I am not a salad!" Kek shouted.

"Two—" 

With each number they swung Kek like a pendulum. Ryou covered his eyes. Kek growled obscenities, Yugi cheered, and Malik leaned against the wall to see what would happen.

"Three!" 

Kek landed on the bed with an _oof_. He grabbed Atem—who stood closer—and tickled him as punishment. Atem kicked out, shrieking laughter. Yugi jumped on Atem's other side to join in.

"Betrayal!" Atem screamed. His face a heated mess from laughter. “Yugi! How could you?” 

"Settle down, gentlemen. I need my beauty sleep." Malik smacked Kek's ass before crawling into bed next to him.

"No you don't." Bakura winked.

"Dammit." Color brightened Malik's cheekbones. "It drives me crazy when you say stuff like that." 

"Because it's cheesy," Kek teased.

"Because it makes me fall in love." Malik gazed at Bakura with an intense look. 

"Too sweet. I'm dead." Ryou clenched his chest over his heart and fell into bed next to Yugi. 

Bakura flashed Malik a lopsided grin. He gestured with his head, indicating he was taking the other end of the bed. Malik nodded. It wasn’t necessary for Bakura to explain—he was worried about Ryou and Kek, and didn’t want Ryou being on the end by himself. Malik rested his head on his hand, propping up on his elbow so he could see Bakura from across the ridiculously sized mattress. 

“We have quite the sandwich going on between us in our bed, don’t you think, Bakura?” 

“Does this make us all snaccs?” Atem asked. 

“Yes.” Kek nipped at Atem’s neck, making him giggle again. 

“Hey, Kek.” Malik tapped Kek’s shoulder once he’d settled. “Will you pass this on to Bakura and tell him I said good night.” 

“Sure, what is it?” Kek rolled toward Malik and held out his hand. 

Malik cupped his face. Kek’s eyes fluttered shut as Malik kneaded their lips together. The kiss was mellow, buttery, and smooth like a bottle of Irish Whiskey. Kek gasped when their lips parted, blinking his eyes back open. 

“Okay.” He licked his lips.

Flipping around, he held Atem’s face and repeated the kiss. Kek reached out and carded his fingers in the air above him, stroking wings that no one but Kek could see. However, Atem’s shudder was quite visible, and he rolled on his back and sighed, staring at the ceiling in thought afterward. 

“Hey! I’m waiting!” Bakura called from his end of the bed. 

“Maybe waiting will teach you some patience.” Atem smirked, but the expression evaporated when he glanced at Yugi beside him. 

A hint of color darkened Yugi’s cheeks as he waited. Atem brushed his finger along Yugi’s bottom lip before cupping his cheek. Yugi moaned as their lips pushed together. He tugged at Atem’s locs, causing Atem to inhale suddenly and gaze at Yugi as if he were the sun floating among stars. 

“Your turn, Ryou.” Yugi rocked to his other side and slung his arms around Ryou. 

They bumped noses, teasing each other before their lips lighted together. They only broke apart because their smiles grew too wide for them to kiss. Holding each other's faces, they giggled and connected their lips together a final time before Ryou half crawled over Bakura and hovered above him. 

“Hey, Bakura,” Ryou whispered. 

“Hmm?” Bakura grunted, flushed and hypnotized by Ryou’s gaze. 

“Malik wanted to tell you good night and give you this.” 

Ryou glided his mouth along Bakura’s, teasing each corner before sucking on Bakura’s bottom lip. Bakura dipped his tongue into Ryou’s mouth and Ryou tilted his head so they could deepen the kiss. Bakura dragged his fingers down Ryou’s spine, circling around Ryou’s tailbone. 

“Tell Malik I said good night back and give him this.” Bakura continued to dance his fingers along Ryou’s spine, each drag of his lips growing slow and heavy until they both panted for breath. 

“I’ll pass the message along.” Ryou scooped Yugi into his arms and kissed him, beginning the cycle over again. 


	31. Ryou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short section is short

In Ryou's dream he couldn't move. A silvery-white dragon coiled around him, trying to protect him, but a fiery red dragon swallowed them before blackness surrounded him. In the dark, he couldn’t move or even scream. He panicked, thinking he was back in the Shadow Realm. 

Ryou screamed, bolting upright. 

" _Shhh_." Bakura coiled his arms around Ryou and pulled Ryou into his chest. "I won't let anything happen to you." 

"I know." Ryou curled deeper into Bakura's embrace. 

"Ryou are you okay?" Kek scrambled over Yugi so he could join Bakura in embracing Ryou.

"A nightmare," Ryou said, but it was more—an omen warning him of something on the horizon—yet Bakura and Kek's embraces were part of it. They were his hope. "I was swallowed up by darkness." 

"Can't happen." Yugi reached over Kek and stole one of Ryou's hands. "We're all together, and we'd save you no matter what." 

"I believe you." Ryou smiled. He noticed the end of the bed was empty. "Where's Malik and Atem?" 

"Malik is on the phone with Isis, and Atem called dibs on the first shower," Kek answered.

"Oh, a shower does sound lovely, but so does breakfast." 

Ryou kissed his way out of their embrace and wandered to the kitchen. He saw Malik on his way, and kissed Malik's cheek as he chattered in quick Egyptian Arabic. Malik's face brightened, and he pulled Ryou closer for a second kiss before going back to his conversation.

Ryou sighed, wondering when he’d become so familiar with Malik. When did the boundaries of metamours dissolve into good morning kisses? It wasn't unplanned, but the domesticity of it, and the comfort, were stronger than Ryou had ever daydreamed.

Kek joined him and made coffee while Ryou commandeered Malik's waffle iron. A moment later, Bakura appeared and sat on the counter, refusing to move even when Ryou began pouring batter into the hot waffle mould. 

"Bakura, please." Ryou nudged him for the third time. 

"You have plenty of room." 

"It's not sanitary to have pets on the counter." 

"It's my house. It's my counter. I'll sit where I want." 

"Kek, please tickle him." Ryou glanced over his shoulder to Kek.

"My pleasure." Kek licked his lips.

"You bastards, you can’t use that threat for everything," Bakura grumbled, slipping off the counter and stealing the first cup of coffee before sitting at the table.

“I’m not. I’m saving it for important things,” Ryou said.

“Breakfast?” Bakura twisted his lips in an amused grin. 

“Pfff, we are talking about Ryou here.” Kek sat beside Bakura with his own cup of coffee.

“You know damn well how important waffles are to me.” Ryou pointed his spatula, threateningly, at Bakura. “Now behave or else.” 

Bakura knew better than to ask “or else what?” 


	32. Bakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also short, but I'm going to try and get the cyoa updated tonight as well :D

Bakura woke up a few hours before dawn with his lungs burning. He found his inhaler, sucked in a few puffs of the medicine, and sighed after the pressure in his lungs eased. He snuck downstairs and brewed a strong pot of chai. Sipping from his cup, Bakura thought of what they could do to destroy the _muduri_ cards, or at least get rid of them.

“Can’t sleep?” Ryou’s groggy voice filtered into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, rubbing his eye with the back of his fist.

Bakura winced, the motion reminded him of their first RPG when Yugi & Co shot Zorc’s eye, injuring Bakura as well. That detail he didn’t mind, but the memory always ended in the same place—the scar on Ryou’s hand.

“Asthma attack,” Bakura muttered.

Ryou’s eyes darted to the inhaler sitting next to Bakura’s teapot and nodded. Ryou sat beside him, stealing a sip from his cup. Bakura grabbed Ryou’s hand, massaging the starburst scar erupting from Ryou’s palm.

“It’s not hurting,” Ryou said.

“Mmm,” Bakura grunted, unable to say more.

"Bakura, what are we going to do?" Ryou whispered.

"M'thinking," Bakura murmured.

"Then we're doomed."

"Ha. Ha." Bakura raised his face enough to see Ryou through the ashen curtain of his own bangs.

"Hey. Bed's cold without you two." Yugi walked into the room. He dragged a chair beside Ryou and sat with them.

"We're trying to figure out what to do with the Dragon Cards," Ryou said.

"Dark magical artefacts aren’t exactly easy to destroy. That's why I've kept them all these years. My biggest concern is someone else finding them." Yugi hugged himself.

"Yeah, even if we write a warning note it'd be either ignored or serve as bait to entice someone to open it." Ryou nodded.

Atem appeared next, standing behind Yugi and resting his hands on Yugi's shoulders. "You can use my tomb."

"Great. Now everyone's awake." Bakura kissed Ryou's hand and released it. "So much for thinking in peace."

"Your tomb isn't safe enough." Yugi shook his head. My grandfather found the Puzzle. Someone could find the Dragon Cards as well."

"I helped your grandfather. My tomb is secure."

"It's also a beautiful target—for both future thieves and future academics. Not that there's a difference." Bakura waved at the door. "We were waiting for you two." He called well before Malik and Kek's shadows crossed the threshold of the kitchen.

"Pour cement over it and dump it in the ocean," Kek suggested.

"Maybe." Yugi pursed his lips together.

"Pour cement over it and shove it into the pit in my tomb." Atem smirked.

"That's...a pretty good idea. Thieves wouldn't check a seemingly endless pit for treasure." Yugi perked up. "I'll get cement tomorrow. Malik, can you help arrange our transportation?"

"Isis is going to be so happy when I tell her I'm visiting already."

"Maybe I should stay in Domino." Kek crouched beside Yugi, resting his head in Yugi's lap."

"I won't pressure you if you choose to stay, but I think you should come." Malik knelt beside him, combing his fingers through Kek's hair.

"We can all go," Ryou said. "Like a vacation."

“Only you would think hiding a cursed game was a vacation.” Yugi kissed his forehead.

“Make the best out of the situation.” Ryou returned Yugi’s kiss.

"Yeah, vacation, _pffft_." Bakura slumped his cheek in his hand. "My ass is staying at the hotel with the air conditioner the entire time. I don’t miss Egypt one bit."

"It'll only be for a few days." Malik shrugged. "But I won't force you to go anymore than I'll force Kek."

"You know damn well I'm going. I want to see that game disappear, and I want to make sure everyone's all right during the trip." Bakura shook his head.

"And how can you pass up this rare opportunity to enter a tomb _with permission?_ " Atem winked.

"Sounds overrated." Bakura scrunched his face in distaste.

"Then how about this, once we return we should do something actually fun to celebrate. Isn't there a fireworks festival near the pier this time of year?" Malik asked.

"Yes, and the food is always amazing." Ryou licked his lips.

"Well, let's go together." Malik glanced around the kitchen to see if everyone agreed.

"I'd love to," Ryou said.

"Okay," Yugi and Atem said at the same time.

Kek nodded, and Bakura shot Malik a finger. Matter settled, Malik hitched his thumb behind him.

"I won't be able to arrange the trip until tomorrow evening, so why don't we go back to bed?"

"Only if those two clowns don't try to carry me." Kek narrowed his gaze at Bakura and Atem.

"You can carry me." Atem stretched out on the table, arms opened wide. The others stared down at him, their eyes unfocused. Atem blushed. "What?"

"Nothing," Yugi said too loudly and too quickly.

"Snacc is on the table. Time for dessert." Bakura's nose scrunched up as he laughed.

"More like breakfast in bed." Kek scooped Atem into his arms.

Atem sucked in a surprised breath as he was hoisted up. Distracted by the shape of Atem's legs as they dangled over Kek’s arms, Bakura smacked his forehead on an opened cabinet.

“Fucker.” Bakura rubbed the mark on his temple.

“Those Thief King reflexes at their finest.” Kek laughed.

“Shut-up.”

“Come on.” Ryou kissed Bakura’s head. “And don’t forget your inhaler.”

“So we have some fun?” Bakura lidded his gaze.

“I’d love to encourage that thought, but I think I’d fall asleep.” Ryou yawned.

Bakura snatched his inhaler, just in case, but the moment he curled beside Ryou in the bed, he fell asleep.


	33. Yugi

Yugi intended to find the others and keep them company while Ryou cooked breakfast, but the sound of Atem's running shower made him pause. They had yet to have a moment alone together, and the _yearning for Atem_ clutching Yugi's heart expanded further than the last seven years and all the way to that first moment Yugi was able to communicate with Atem on Pegasus's island.

He slipped into the bathroom and pulled his clothes off.

"Hey Aibou, I'll be done in a minute," Atem said when he half-noticed Yugi through the fogged glass.

Silently Yugi removed his clothes, slid the door open, and stepped into the wide shower cubicle. 

"Yugi?" Atem backed against the shower wall, but the pitch of his voice rose in an unspoken _I'm not sure what you're doing but I hope it's exactly what it looks like._

Yugi answered with a kiss. Atem had his locs tied in a bun, so Yugi couldn't tug Atem's hair, but he held the back of Atem's head and titled Atem's head upward. After a deep, lingering kiss, Yugi pulled away to see Atem’s reaction. 

"Yugi…" Atem flushed. 

This time there was no question in his voice. Yugi’s name was a plea, and Yugi wanted to give Atem exactly what he wanted. Scanning the shampoo rack, Yugi searched for a bottle of lube, knowing Malik and Bakura well enough to expect one hidden among the body wash and conditioner. He found a slender, black cylinder which he recognized immediately and plucked it from the other products.

Setting the lube near their feet, Yugi smashed his mouth against Atem's a second time. He plunged his tongue into Atem's mouth. Atem groaned, pressing against Yugi, clawing at Yugi's hips as their bodies began to frot. Yugi's cock hardened as it slipped against Atem's. Gripping both their cocks, Yugi stroked. 

"Gods, Yugi, gods." Atem bucked into Yugi's first. 

"I haven't really had a chance to tell you exactly how in love I am with you." Yugi kissed him, dragging their lips together between words. "How much I've always loved you." 

"I felt the same—I feel the same." Atem gasped as Yugi sucked his throat. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I'm so _so_ sorry I didn't listen when you tried to explain your guilt to me." 

" _Shh."_ Atem pressed his finger to Yugi's lips. "None of that matters anymore. We're here now." 

"Yeah, here in Malik's shower." Yugi laughed. 

"A good duelist takes advantage of any opportunity given to them." Atem shrugged. 

"Like this?" Yugi sucked his way down Atem's neck. 

" _Ngh_." Atem grunted. 

Beautiful red blooms darkened against Atem's throat. Yugi shifted across Atem's chest, continuing to his pelvis. Atem shut his eyes. The shower spray covered his face with small, glistening droplets. Yugi lubed his fingers before licking the helmet of Atem's cock. 

"Aibou!" Atem moaned. 

With his left hand Yugi held Atem's base. Keeping his cock steady, Yugi ran broad licks along Atem's cockhead. When Atem bucked, desperate to thrust into Yugi's mouth, Yugi swallowed Atem's full length and poked a finger into Atem's asshole. 

"Oh gods." Atem's knees buckled under his weight.

Atem reached out, finding the handles Malik had installed on the shower walls—most likely for the very reason they were using them. Yugi bobbed his head, taking Atem _deep_ into the back of his throat. He maneuvered a second finger into Atem and teased his prostate.

Atem's cries echoed against the bathroom walls, but Yugi couldn't bear to stop when he knew Atem was on the brink of orgasm. He ignored the water dripping into his eyes and the hard tiles against his knees and continued to suck until Atem was begging, screaming, gripping to the handles, and coming. Yugi swallowed. His heart raced from anticipation, and he felt proud of the wrecked expression on Atem's face as he clung to the shower handles with the last of his strength. His wings were folded behind his back; Yugi couldn't resist caressing them. They clung to his wet fingers, drops falling from the tips like rain off leaves.

"Atem." Yugi stood and kissed him. "I want you."

"Yu-yuh—" Atem gasped, unable to form words as Yugi stroked Atem's feathers. "Ahh!" 

"Atem," Yugi spoke his name with a desperate, longing in his voice.

The lube slipped out of his hand. Yugi cursed as he chased after it. After retrieving it, he coated his dick and hoisted Atem against the shower wall. Atem held the handles, making it easier for Yugi to hold his weight. Yugi impaled Atem onto his cock. He choked, the pleasure too much to process. Atem’s toes curled and uncurled as Yugi eased in and out to warm Atem’s body to his thrusts. 

“I love you.” Yugi pressed his forehead against Atem's chest. 

“ _Ah—I love—ahh—y-you—”_ Atem’s breaths came short and quick. 

His chest tightened. He used the handles for leverage so he could hitch each time Yugi pushed into his body. Atem turned his head to the side, the cut of his cheekbones showing off the natural contours of his face. Yugi couldn’t resist leaning close and kissing Atem’s cheek before nibbling on his ear a moment. Atem continued to moan.

Yugi lost himself within the euphoria of being inside his partner. Atem had already come which meant that Yugi could go without holding back. He kept his pace fast, allowing his pleasure to build to climax quickly. Yugi’s vision spun as he came hard. His shouts outmatched Atem’s and after they finished, they stood and clung to each other for a couple of minutes. 

Exhausted, Yugi finally set Atem down. They sank and curled together on the tile floor to catch their breath before finishing their shower, drying, dressing, and meeting the others for breakfast. Kek and Bakura snorted laughter when Yugi and Atem entered the kitchen, but Malik shot them an annoyed glance.

"It's great that you're making yourselves at home, but maybe next time keep the noise down _when I'm on the phone with my sister."_

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry." Yugi buried his face in his hands. 

"It's fine." Malik sighed. "I told her Bakura was watching porn." 

"Listening to it at least." Bakura snorted. He winked at Atem. "Your wings are still showing." 

Atem tucked his wings as close to his body as possible. They glittered with tiny shower droplets. Atem muttered an apology to Malik and distracted himself by pouring coffee. Yugi sat beside Ryou who offered a sympathetic smile. Their breakfast chatter slowly replaced Yugi's overwhelming embarrassment and the red faded from his cheeks.

"It'll be easier to sail since there are six of us. We'll have to pack today and be ready to leave port as soon as it's light enough," Malik spoke while he ate.

"Ryou if you pack for me, I'll swing by the game shop today and pick up the game," Yugi said.

"All right," Ryou agreed.

"Bakura, if I go anywhere near that thing, beat my ass for me." Kek drew invisible designs with his fingertip against the table.

"The same goes for me." Ryou folded his hands in his lap. 

"Anyone sleepwalks anywhere near the creepy evil game, and the rest of us dogpile them." Bakura gave Ryou and Kek two thumbs up. "Now that boring business is settled, let's talk game night." 

"What part of leave by dawn did you not understand?" Malik finished his coffee before gathering dishes. 

"Fine, but we should at least make tacos. Everyone's here, and what better way to get Kek's mind off of _muduri_ than with 3 million scoville worth of fiery pain?" 

"I love fiery pain." Kek popped up his head to pay attention to Bakura.

"You just want to make a stupid video to put on the internet." Atem crossed his legs, leaning back and propping his cheek with his hand.

"No. I want to make a kick ass video to put on the internet." 

"You know I love cooking," Ryou said.

"And I love eating." Yugi rubbed his belly.

"And I promised I'd try them too." Atem sighed.

"I'll use both steak and seitan versions, so you don't have to worry about meat, Malik." Ryou stood and helped Malik with the dishes. 

"I don't mind, but we wake up when I say, and I don't care how tired we are." Malik pointed at Ryou. "Especially you." 

"Don't worry, I know how to wake Ryou in the mornings." Bakura winked. 

"If you're not thinking about pancakes, you're wrong." Yugi kissed Ryou's cheek. "I'm going. The sooner I deal with the game the better." 

"Meet me at the pier in an hour, and we'll figure out the best way to secure it on the ship," Malik instructed.

"Will do." Yugi left, but only after kissing each of them goodbye. 

Bakura blushed when he was included, and Yugi internally swore to kiss him more often in order to see Bakura's flustered expression—it was much more fun to see Bakura blushing than to feel the burn on his own cheeks. 


	34. Malik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to have the tornshipping commission I got ready to post tomorrow, which means I'll probably update this again on Sunday. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Malik checked his camcorder, ensuring everything was in frame. Bakura pouted in front of him, face boxed-in the little viewing screen on the side of the lense.

“I already told you, Bakura, I’ll only participate if I can be the cameraman, so stop pouting.” 

"Set it on the tripod and be in the video with us."

"No thank you. I'd rather be the mastermind behind the scenes." Malik blew Bakura a kiss. "As always." 

"But you're too gorgeous not to be with the rest of us." 

There was too much honesty on Bakura's face as he spoke. Malik's heart missed a beat. His expression softened and he cupped Bakura’s cheek. 

"Maybe next time," he said as consolation. 

"Fine. _Hide_." Bakura crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Shouldn't you do an intro or something?" Atem leaned across the island counter. "Most of these videos have clever starts." 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gimme half a sec." Bakura waved his hand. "Not planning on posting this before editing it anyway. Are the rest of you ready?" 

Ryou waved at the camera to show he was. His hair was swept back and he wore an apron with a skeleton outline. Beside him Kek admired the chef's knife, mesmerized. He didn’t even see the camera as he ran his finger tip up and down the blade’s spine. Malik filmed him for a few seconds while he was lost in murderous thought. 

"We're ready." Yugi called from across the kitchen. He held a red apron in his hands, and showed it to Bakura. 

"Okay…Hold on, let's do this big." Bakura ran to the side of the dining room. 

He slid the glass door to the patio and stepped outside. Ten seconds later, Bakura ran into the kitchen, flipped over the island, slipped into the apron, and popped onto the counter—laying on his side and winking at the camera. 

"What's up? It's me, ya boi Bakura here with my beautiful cooking assistants." Bakura paused to kiss Kek and Ryou's hands. "We also have the King of Games with us today, and this other bitch over here." 

Bakura made a dismissive gesture toward Atem before turning back toward the camera. Behind him, Atem grabbed a glass of water and dumped it onto Bakura's head. The kitchen echoed with laughter. Malik laughed hard enough to make the camera shake in his hands. Bakura jumped to his feet and whipped his hair so the droplets showered Atem.

"What the fuck?" Bakura flicked his head up and grabbed a clean kitchen towel.

"Well, the tacos are going to be hot, so I figured I'd cool you down before we began." Atem grinned, one hand resting on his hip. 

"I'm going to laugh my ass off when you bite into these and cry like a bitch." Bakura gave Atem the bird. 

"Oh please, I can handle a few peppers. You're the one who's going to throw in the towel after one bite." 

"You think so? Care to make a friendly bet on who can eat more tacos at the end of the video?" 

"Of course. I love winning. What's on the line?" 

"Loser rubs the winner's feet," Malik called from behind the camera. 

"Fine." Bakura crossed his arms over his chest.

"Can't wait." Atem leaned against the counter.

Yugi tapped Ryou on the shoulder. "Why don't you explain what you're cooking, Ryou? So we don't have to listen to them bicker the entire video." 

"I'm making steak tacos, and Kek is in charge of the seitan ones." 

"Since fat helps balance spicy food, but the seitan is leaner than beef, I made some cashew cream to top the seitan tacos instead of cheese." 

"What’s seitan?" Yugi asked for the sake of the viewers.

"Disgusting, that's what it is." Bakura wrinkled his nose.

"It's dough rinsed until only the gluten—the protein—is left. I sliced and fried it to give it a better texture." Kek glared at Bakura.

"No one cares about that. Talk about the peppers!" Bakura shoved himself between Ryou and Kek, scooping a handful of brightly colored peppers in his hands.

" _First_ , always wear gloves before _touching_ the peppers." Ryou slipped into a pair before taking the peppers away from Bakura the way one takes a knife away from a toddler.

“Unless you have a cappuccino kink.” Bakura sucked his middle finger in a way that had Malik wondering if a) was Bakura acting or serious, and b) was this going to get their video flagged and pulled from the internet for being too sexy? 

"The seitan filling had a mix of habanero, scotch bonnet, and carolina reapers." Kek displayed each pepper for the camera. "Mixed in with a garlic based reaper hot sauce." 

"I chose ghost peppers and chocolate bhutlah peppers for the beef tacos." Ryou held a chocolate colored pepper in his gloved hand. "They have a sweet, earthy flavor and are arguably as hot or more so than the reapers." 

"And to make sure we suffer." Bakura slammed a bottle into the counter. "Mad Dog 357 No 9. Bam! This baby had 9 million scovilles. Hey Yugi, I dare you to lick it right outta the bottle." 

" _Do not_." Ryou snatched the jar away. "This isn't a hot sauce. It's a pepper extract. You dip a toothpick in it for enough to flavor an entire pot of food." 

"Don't worry. I'm not dumb enough to do anything Bakura dares me to do." Yugi laughed.

"Give that back." Bakura grabbed for the jar. "I want to eat an entire spoon of it." 

"No. We're not sending you to the hospital because you have no sense of self preservation." Ryou shoved at Bakura. "Get out of my kitchen." 

"Bitch, this is my kitchen!" Bakura protested.

"Not anymore. Shoo." 

They struggled a moment until Kek physically lifted Bakura into the air and sat him on his favorite counter perch. Before Bakura could leap down, Atem body blocked him and began another argument to keep Bakura distracted and give Ryou a chance to cook. 

The next ten minutes were uneventful. Ryou and Kek prepared everything they needed while everyone talked back and forth. Finally Malik paused the camera so the fillings could simmer before they did the final tasting. The day was gorgeous, so they went outside onto the patio. Malik served mint tea while they waited. He dashed into the kitchen for extra sugar for Ryou, but Bakura snuck behind him. Slinging an arm around Malik's waist, Bakura spoke in the silky voice he reserved for schemes. 

"Hey Malik, why don't you grab your camera?" 

"What are you planning to do?" Malik narrowed his gaze at Bakura.

"Me? Nothing." Bakura pressed a hand to his chest and batted his eyes. "Well... maybe I'm going to give the steak a little extra kick." 

"You're going to kill yourself—and I'm going to marry Ryou in your place." 

"Relax. I know what I'm doing." Bakura grabbed an armload of various hot sauces.

"We'll see." Malik turned on his camera. He wasn't eating the steak tacos, so he didn't really care if Bakura wanted to ruin them." 

Bakura grinned like a fool as he splashed bright red, orange, and yellow hot sauces into the food. He picked up a final bottle, winked at Malik, and shook as much as he could into the pan of simmering meat. The smell was instant, fiery, overbearing. Both Malik and Bakura coughed as the peppers burned their lungs. Desperate to escape, Malik set the camera down and ran to the patio. He rested his hands on his knees, hacking and gasping for air. 

"What did he do?" Ryou raced toward the kitchen, and the others followed him.

Soon they were all outside again, coughing. Bakura paced along the patio, puffing on his inhaler in between coughs. Tears streamed down his red, irritated eyes, but at least he had enough sense to wipe them with his arm instead of the hands he used to hold the raw peppers. 

"You pepper sprayed the entire kitchen. Are you happy?" Ryou held a damp towel over his nose and mouth.

Bakura waved Ryou away, wheezing and coughing. It served him right, but Malik hated seeing him suffer. He led Bakura to the patio furniture, set him down, and made him sip on some tea until his breathing stabilized somewhat. As Bakura leaned back and gasped, Ryou braved the kitchen again. He returned red eyed and coughing. 

"Did he ruin it?" Kek asked.

Ryou shrugged. "A good portion of the taste is now sheer heat instead of a balanced flavor, but I can eat it. The rest of you should eat Kek's filling instead." 

"No way. I'm really curious how bad it’ll be." Yugi patted his stomach. "So if it's ready—let's eat!" 


	35. Kek

They moved everything outside. Kek enjoyed a bit of pain, but the air in the kitchen and dining room was still unbreathable for any of them. Malik set the camera on a tripod while everyone fixed their meal. Kek stacked a plate full of seitan tacos, beans, and avocado slices. Sitting down, he took a generous bite. The fiery taste stung his mouth like a storm of wasps. Tears welled in the corners of his eyes. The pain was near orgasmic. Kek sucked in a cooling breath, but it was sheer fire igniting his tongue. 

"Gods, Bakura. This is the most evil thing you've ever done." Yugi sniffed, nose and eyes running.

"I…don't know what you're talking about." Bakura coughed. "These are great." 

"My lips are fucking numb," Malik used a napkin to wipe at his face. 

"Those are the less spicy ones." Ryou laughed, also sniffing and crying from the heat. 

"Oh my god, I swear it's getting worse." Yugi set his plate down. "Going to Burger World. Anyone else?" 

"Do they have veggies burgers?" Malik asked.

"They have black bean burgers." Atem mopped his face with extra napkins. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he refused to lose his bet against Bakura. 

"Let's go." Malik stood, abandoning his tacos. 

"Would you bring back a milkshake?" Ryou asked. "It will dull the burn." 

"I'll bring everyone a milkshake." Yugi smiled. "I think we all need one after these." 

Yugi and Malik left. Ryou ate his tacos, but added a mountain of sour cream in order to cool them. Curiosity consumed Kek, he grabbed Yugi's half eaten taco and took a bite. 

"Oh wow." Kek licked his lips to make sure they hadn't incinerated off his face. "Hot sauce feels like falling in love." 

"This is agony." Atem dropped his second taco on his plate. "Bakura, you win. I can't—are the seitan ones better?" 

"They're way better." Ryou shook his head. "Bakura, messing with my body was forgivable, but messing with my tacos is crossing a line." 

"I think the camera's still on." Kek snorted laughter, and flaming Ra did it burn. He wanted to wipe the tears away, but didn’t dare touch his eyes. Even he had limits. 

Ryou blushed. Bakura cackled, coughing and holding up his third taco to scarff it down for the camera. You heard it, _I'm_ the winner. King of Spice right here." 

"Ryou ate twice as many tacos as you," Kek said in a loud voice. 

"Anyway! Join us next time when we see who can shove the most marshmallows in their mouth while shouting _it's time to duel_!" 

"We are _not doing that_." Atem glared at Bakura.

"Sorry, I already said it. Viewers expect it now." Bakura shot his finger at the camera before circling around to turn it off. 

"Why are we even making these?" Atem frowned. 

"It's fun." Bakura fanning his face. "I think I'm gonna puke lava." 

"That's what you get." Ryou stuck his tongue out at Bakura.

They all sniffled and went through an entire stack of napkins. Bakura had to use his inhaler again, coughing occasionally. Kek pinched his lips, enjoying the numbness and fire. As good as it was, he was happy to see Yugi and Malik return with a tray full of milkshakes. 


End file.
